Atherosclerosis in survivors of Kawasaki disease

To test the hypothesis that long-term survivors of low-risk Kawasaki disease (KD) have ongoing vascular inflammation and dysfunction and a higher risk of accelerated atherosclerosis than healthy control subjects.

Twenty-eight patients with KD (7-20 years after acute illness) and 27 age-matched healthy control subjects were examined for medical and dietary history, serum markers of atherosclerotic risk and inflammation, carotid intimal-medial thickness (CIMT) with vascular ultrasound scanning and arterial stiffness with applanation tonometry.

Patients and control subjects were similar in age, sex, body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, cigarette smoking, family history, diet, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, lipoprotein (a) level, homocysteine level, glucose level, insulin level, CIMT, arterial stiffness, C-reactive protein level, and inflammatory cytokine level. Levels of total cholesterol and apolipoprotein B were significantly higher in patients with KD than in control subjects.

There was no evidence of increased atherosclerosis. Small but significant differences in cholesterol and apolipoprotein B levels could suggest increased future risk for atherosclerosis and warrant further study.