Plasma prostaglandin E2 level in Kawasaki disease.

Plasma levels of prostaglandin E2 and prostaglandin F2 alpha were determined in 15 patients in the acute and recovery stages of Kawasaki disease, 10 patients with anaphylactoid purpura, 16 with bacterial and viral infections and 10 healthy children. Plasma levels of prostaglandin E2 were markedly increased in the acute stage of Kawasaki disease, and these levels were decreased in the recovery stage. The prostaglandin F2 alpha/prostaglandin E2 ratio in the acute stage of Kawasaki disease was markedly decreased. Plasma levels of prostaglandin E2 in patients with anaphylactoid purpura, bacterial and viral infections were within the normal range. In Kawasaki disease which is associated with systemic vasculitis with a severe inflammatory reaction, prostaglandin E2 is considered to be more selectively produced and released than prostaglandin F2 alpha, suggesting that prostaglandin E2 plays an important role in the immunological and inflammatory reaction.