Laboratory Markers in Incomplete Kawasaki Disease according to Coronary Artery Outcome

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We defined laboratory marker profiles typical of incomplete Kawasaki disease (iKD) during illness, especially with respect to the presence of a coronary artery abnormality such as coronary artery dilation or aneurysm. METHODS: This retrospective study examined the clinical and laboratory markers of patients with iKD over time, along with those of patients with complete KD (cKD) and febrile controls. RESULTS: Of 795 patients, 178 had iKD, 504 had cKD and 113 were febrile controls. During the transition from the acute to subacute phase, the age-adjusted hemoglobin levels and platelet counts were significantly lower and higher, respectively, in the subacute phase than in the acute phase in both iKD and cKD patients, which differed from those of febrile controls. Lower levels of acute and subacute age-adjusted hemoglobin levels in iKD patients (odds ratio [OR], 0.538 and 0.583; p=0.006 and 0.018, respectively) and higher subacute platelet counts in cKD patients (OR, 1.004; p=0.014) were correlated with the risk of coronary dilation. A higher acute neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was associated with aneurysm only in cKD patients (OR, 1.059; p=0.044). CONCLUSIONS: The iKD patients share KD-specific laboratory marker profiles in terms of complete blood cell counts and acute phase reactant levels with cKD patients. However, the factors predicting coronary dilation differ according to the phenotype; lower acute and subacute age-adjusted hemoglobin levels predict coronary dilation only in iKD patients.