Risk factors associated with progression and persistence of small- and medium-sized coronary artery aneurysms in Kawasaki disease: a prospective cohort study

To identify the risk factors of progression and persistence of small- and medium-sized coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) in a contemporary cohort of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) and to determine the relationship between CAA progression and persistence. A total of 89 KD patients with small- and medium-sized CAA were prospectively enrolled. All patients were followed up at least for 2 years by serial echocardiography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate independent risk factors for CAA progression and persistence. A total of 46 (51.7%) and 73 (82.0%) patients showed echocardiographic CAA regression by 1 month and 24 months of follow-up, respectively. CAA progression was documented in 12 (13.5%) patients during follow-up. The initial aneurysm size according to CAA classification (OR 0.089, 95% CI 0.013–0.634, P = 0.016) and CAA progression (OR 42.618, 95% CI 3.740–485.6, P = 0.003) were independently associated with CAA persistence. The number of involved coronary arteries (OR 0.223, 95% CI 0.065–0.767, P = 0.015) and lymphocyte proportion (OR 1.327, 95% CI 1.019–1.727, P = 0.040) were independently associated with CAA progression.

Conclusion: Patients with KD and greater initial aneurysm size, CAA progression, more involved coronary arteries, and lower lymphocyte proportion may require intensive cardiac monitoring and adjuvant therapies.