From January 1988 to Autumn 1991, 60 patients suffering from
Kawasaki disease (KD) were recruited in this study. Their ages ranged from 4 months to 5 years. Diagnosis was based on the criteria revised in 1984 by the KD Research Committee in Japan. Of these, 12 cases developed
coronary aneurysms. First, blood samples from 60 KD patients were taken on admission before
aspirin and/or
intravenous immunoglobulin (
IVIG) treatment. Convalescent blood samples were taken 3 months after onset of disease. The control group included (1) 10 cases of
viral infection with
skin rash and
fever (aged 5 months to 5 years) and (2) 10 age and sex matched normal children admitted for elective pediatric surgery such as
inguinal hernia. Second, urinary samples were collected from 32 cases during the acute phase of KD. Of these, 10 cases had
pyuria and/or
proteinuria. The results showed that the serum
IL-6 levels from KD patients during the first week of acute phase were significantly increased while undetectable in the convalescent sera and controls. There was also a statistical difference between the with and without
coronary aneurysm groups during the first week (336.8 +/- 95.1 vs 125.5 +/- 56.5 pg/ml, P < 0.001). Urinary
IL-6 levels were significantly elevated in KD patients with
pyuria and/or
proteinuria (156.6 +/- 77.7 pg/mg Cr) and undetectable in the group without
pyuria and
proteinuria and controls during the first week. There was no difference between with and without
coronary aneurysm. These results suggest that serum
IL-6 level is a useful factor for predicting formation of
coronary aneurysm even within one week after onset of disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)