The throat culture in Kawasaki disease

Recently, Kawasaki disease has been attracting more attention as a new acquired heart disease in pediatrics, but the etiology of this disease has still not been established. In this study, the authors performed throat cultures not only on the patients themselves but also on their parents in order to investigate its etiology. No abnormal and specific bacterium was found in the present study. However, there have been many reports which may suggest bacterial or viral involvement at the onset of this disease. Therefore, it may be necessary to continue bacteriological analysis more systematically.