Biphasic thallium 201 SPECT-imaging for the noninvasive diagnosis of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in a child with Kawasaki disease--a case report

The mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (Kawasaki disease) is of increasing importance for the pediatric cardiologist, for coronary aneurysms with the potential of thrombosis and subsequent stenosis can develop in the course of the disease. The authors report a 2 1/2-year-old female child in whom, fourteen months after the acute phase of Kawasaki disease, myocardial infarction occurred. Biphasic thallium 201 SPECT-imaging using dipyridamole depicted anterior wall ischemia and inferolateral infarction. This case demonstrates that noninvasive vasodilation-redistribution thallium 201 SPECT-imaging has the potential to predict reversible myocardial perfusion defects and myocardial necrosis, even in small infants with Kawasaki disease