Backstreet Boy's Son Diagnosed With Kawasaki Syndrome

Dec. 23, 2008 — -- Baylee Littrell, son of Brian Littrell, a member of the pop music group the Backstreet Boys, was finally diagnosed last week with Kawasaki syndrome, a collection of symptoms that stem from swollen blood vessels.

"He's never been sick," said Baylee's mother, Leighanne Littrell. When he first began to show symptoms, "it kind of blew us away and from then on things escalated."

In an announcement on Brian Littrell's Web site, the family detailed how Baylee, 6, was tested for several different infections including strep throat and hand, foot and mouth disease before being diagnosed with atypical Kawasaki disease.

Kawasaki disease or Kawasaki syndrome (KS) is characterized by a high fever that lasts about five days. Fever is usually accompanied by red eyes, a rash, red lips and tongue and swollen hands, feet and lymph nodes. If only some of these symptoms are present along with a high fever, the KS is called atypical.

"They look like they've been up all night," said Dr. Robert Frenck, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The lips can look coated with red lipstick. "Kids get very fussy and irritable. ... They're just not themselves."

Although KS causes inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body, the most serious cases occur when blood vessels surrounding the heart become inflamed. Unless they are caught early -- within 10 days after the onset of symptoms -- the inflammations can cause a variety of heart complications including aneurysms, abnormal heart rhythms and heart attacks.

Standard treatments for KS include high doses of aspirin to reduce fever and overall swelling and an immunoglobulin to reduce arterial inflammation and prevent heart complications.