Common carotid artery intima-media thickness is useful for diagnosis of the acute stage of Kawasaki disease

• Published in: BMC pediatrics 2014-04, Vol.14 (1), p.98-98, Article 98
• Main Authors: Wu, Ting-Hsin, Kuo, Hsuan-Chang, Tain, You-Lin, Lin, Kuan-Miao, Kuo, Ho-Chang, Chien, Shao-Ju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Blood Pressure; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Carotid Artery, Common - diagnostic imaging; Carotid Artery, Common - pathology; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; Child; Child, Preschool; Comparative analysis; Complications and side effects; Coronary vessels; Drug therapy; Echocardiography; Female; Fever - etiology; Humans; Infant; Kawasaki disease; Male; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome - diagnostic imaging; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome - pathology; Patient outcomes; Physiological aspects; Risk factors; Studies; Veins & arteries
• ISSN: 1471-2431; 1471-2431
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2431-14-98

This study aimed to investigate intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries in children with acute Kawasaki disease (KD). Between 2009 and 2011, patients fulfilling the criteria for KD, including a fever lasting >5 days, were prospectively enrolled in this study. Laboratory data, echocardiography, and IMT were measured and compared with matched controls. A total of 70 common carotid IMTs were measured in 35 children. We studied 21 patients aged 3-60 months old with acute KD and 14 febrile patients aged 3-194 months old with acute infection and similar characteristics to those of KD patients. Children with KD had a significantly higher IMT compared with the controls (0.550 ± 0.081 mm vs. 0.483 ± 0.046 mm, P = 0.01). IMT during the acute stage of KD is increased, suggesting that IMT could be a useful diagnostic tool in the early diagnosis of KD.