Evaluation of clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological features of children with Kawasaki disease.

OBJECTIVES

Kawasaki disease is a systemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology that is usually seen in children younger than five years of age. In our study, the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic characteristics of children diagnosed with Kawasaki disease were evaluated, and patients were compared between complete and incomplete Kawasaki disease, as well as according to the presence or absence of coronary artery involvement.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 35 paediatric patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease. Patients were classified as having complete Kawasaki disease or incomplete Kawasaki disease and were further stratified based on the presence or absence of coronary artery involvement. Laboratory parameters were compared between patients with and without coronary artery involvement before treatment and one week after treatment.

RESULTS

The study included 35 patients, 71.4% of whom were male (n = 25). Complete Kawasaki disease was diagnosed in 68.6% of patients, and coronary artery involvement was detected in 37.1%. Patients with complete Kawasaki disease had more frequent extremity changes (p = 0.011), higher C-reactive protein (p = 0.014), and lower alanine aminotransferase levels (p = 0.014) than those with incomplete Kawasaki disease. Patients with coronary artery involvement were younger (p = 0.001), had longer hospitalisation (p = 0.020), prolonged fever before intravenous immunoglobulin treatment (p = 0.003), and delayed defervescence (p = 0.028) compared to patients without coronary artery involvement. Before treatment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.033), lymphocyte (p = 0.022), and platelet (p = 0.001) were higher in patients with coronary artery involvement, whereas no significant differences were observed after treatment.

CONCLUSION

Patients with coronary artery involvement in Kawasaki disease were younger and exhibited more pronounced inflammatory findings compared with those without involvement; however, these inflammatory differences disappeared after treatment. This finding supports the importance of early and effective treatment during the acute phase.