Follow-up study of coronary artery lesions due to Kawasaki disease by serial selective coronary arteriography in 200 patients.

In a follow-up study of coronary artery lesions (CAL) due to Kawasaki disease, 200 patients were examined by serial coronary arteriography 1 year after first detection of the condition. On comparing the findings of the two coronary angiographic studies, a worsening of stenotic lesions was detected in 30 patients (15%; 40 of 139 stenotic lesions, 29%), while improvement of stenotic lesions was seen in 24 patients (12%; 40 lesions, 29%). Relating these changes in CAL to the interval from the onset of disease to the first coronary arteriography showed the rate of increased or new stenotic lesions (37%) to be higher in the late group, in which the first study was performed 5 months after the onset of the disease, than in the early group (21%), in which the study was done within 4 months from the disease onset. The frequency of decrease in aneurysm size was higher in the early group (70%) than in the late group (19%).