Variation in coronary arterial dimension (distensible abnormality) after disappearing aneurysm in Kawasaki disease

Distensible abnormality of the coronary arteries was evaluated in children with Kawasaki disease. The internal diameter of the left coronary artery (diameter) was measured by cineangiography. Among 38 children with Kawasaki disease, 17 developed aneurysms which later disappeared (disappearance group) and 21 had no aneurysm (no aneurysm group). Eleven children had no history of the disease (control group). The maximal diameter was recognized in systole and the minimal diameter in diastole. The mean distensibility index ([maximal diameter-minimal diameter]/minimal diameter) was 5.7% in the disappearance group, 7.9% in the no aneurysm group, and 11.3% in the control group. There were significant differences among the three groups. We demonstrated that distensibility in the coronary arteries in children with Kawasaki disease decreased and that in the no aneurysm group distensibility ranged between the values in the control group and those in the disappearance group.