Acute-phase Treatment and Prevention of Large Coronary Artery Lesions in Kawasaki Disease

I encountered an outbreak of Kawasaki disease (KD) in Japan on 1982. Aspirin therapy was a sole treatment for the disease, and many children had severe coronary artery lesions (CALs) on 1982. Currently, we have been able to utilize an intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy for KD, and the prevalence of CALs caused by KD have been decreasing. However, an effective use of IVIG therapy for the prevention of severe CALs has not been established yet. In this book, I have reviewed findings of clinical trials conducted in our department regarding acute-phase treatment and prevention of severe CALs in KD.