Lipid Profile Changes During and after Kawasaki Disease

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We wanted to evaluate the serial lipid profiles in children with Kawasaki disease(KD) for a period of 1 year and the association of lipid profiles with the development of coronary artery lesions(CAL). METHODS: The subjects were 43 children with KD admitted at The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital from January 2000 to December 2002. Serial sera were collected 4 times for 1 year from all patients; at admission(acute stage), 1-2 months, 6 months and 1 year after disease onset. The values of total cholesterol(TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) and triglyceride(TG) were measured by an automatic analyzer. The sera from 59 age- matched healthy children were used as controls. RESULTS: The values of TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C in KD patients in the acute stage were significantly lower than those at 1-2 months, at 6 months and at 1 year, and also lower than those in controls. HDL-C levels have a tendency to increase with a time elapsed. There was no significant difference in lipid profiles after the acute stage between the KD patients and control groups. In comparison between the group with CAL and the group without CAL, although the TC value in the acute stage was lower and TG value at 1 year was higher in the group with CAL than that in the group without CAL, there was no lipid profile with statistical significance between the groups. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the altered lipid profile in the acute stage of KD may reflect the severity of inflammation in KD, and it recover within 2 months of disease onset. Alterations in lipid profile after the acute stage do not seem to be associated with the risk factor for premature atherosclerosis.