Case report
Echocardiographic alterations in a child with cow’s milk allergy: a case report
1 Servizio di Immuno-Allergologia Pediatrica, University of Perugia, Perugia, 06100, Italy
2 Division of Pediatrics, Azienda Ospedaliera di Perugia, Perugia, 06100, Italy
Journal of Medical Case Reports 2012, 6:299 doi:10.1186/1752-1947-6-299
Published: 13 September 2012Abstract
Introduction
Cow’s milk allergy is the most frequent food allergy in Europe and western countries and shows a wide spectrum of clinical features, including atopic dermatitis and gastrointestinal disease. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to describe Kawasaki disease-like clinical features and echocardiographic alterations which resolved after a cow’s milk-free diet.
Case presentation
We report a case of a 9-month-old Caucasian girl with atopic dermatitis who developed clinical features commonly present in Kawasaki disease (erythematous skin rash, non-exudative conjunctivitis, fissured lips and neck lymph nodes), together with mild echocardiographic alterations (perivascular brightness, pericardial effusion) in the absence of fever. These features resolved within 2 weeks after the beginning of a cow’s milk-free diet.
Conclusion
Kawasaki disease has recently been considered a possible risk factor for subsequent allergic disease secondary to immune dysfunction. This case report suggests that the immune-related alterations which are commonly present in allergic patients could be similar to the antigen-related immune response in Kawasaki disease and thus could lead to similar clinical features.
