Usefulness of Kawasaki disease risk scoring systems to the Turkish population

OBJECTIVE: Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common cause of coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) in children. The available risk scores to predict intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance and CAA were developed in Asian populations in whom their effectiveness has been proven, but data on non-Asian children are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of 5 risk scoring systems to predict IVIG resistance and CAA in Turkey patients with KD. METHODS: Patients with KD were retrospectively evaluated with clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic findings. Data analyses were performed in 5 scoring systems (Harada, Kobayashi, Egami, Formosa, and Sano). RESULTS: A total of 259 patients (Male: Female, 1.7) were treated for KD in our hospital. The mean age of diagnosis in patients with KD, CAA, and IVIG resistance were 3.31, 2.19, and 2.06, respectively. CAA development and IVIG resistance were seen in 11.6% and 12.3% of cases, respectively. IVIG resistance was detected in 35.6% of patients with CAA. In our study, 5 risk scoring systems were applied to our patients. ROC analysis results were found highest in Kobayashi scoring system for IVIG resistance (AUC, 0.864) and in Harada scoring system for CAA development (AUC, 0.727). CONCLUSION: Harada score was significant in predicting CAA risk, and Kobayashi score was significant in predicting the risk of developing IVIG resistance. It is necessary to determine more specific and sensitive risk scores that increase the risk of IVIG resistance and the development of CAA in Turkey.