In this study, the course of dilated coronary arterial lesions in Kawasaki disease was followed by evaluating selective coronary arteriography performed twice in 39 cases, initially 6 months after the onset of disease and subsequently 2 years and 6 months later.
Follow-up study revealed that mildly dilated coronary arteries (less than 6 mm in diameter) regressed to normal in 60 to 70% of cases, moderate cases (dilation from 6 to 10 mm in diameter) regressed to normal in 30 to 40%, but severe cases (dilation greater than 10 mm in diameter) did not show regression. Thus, the severity of coronary lesions may be estimated by the size of coronary artery dilation for predicting the prognosis of patients with Kawasaki disease. Namely, giant coronary lesions usually change into obstructive coronary lesions and are associated with impaired left ventricular function resulting from myocardial ischemia.
It is of clinical importance is to prevent or reduce the progression of coronary arterial diseases, and even if coronary aneurysms occur, every effort should be made to preclude the advanced shift to obstructive coronary lesions.
