Soluble forms of the selectin family in children with Kawasaki disease: Prediction for coronary artery lesions

Aim: To investigate the relationship between the plasma levels of soluble forms of the selectin family and the incidence of coronary artery lesions (CALs) in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). Methods: Thirty-three patients with KD, including group A patients (n = 22) who had no CALs and group B patients (n = 11) who had CALs, as well as age-matched febrile (n = 10) and afebrile controls (n = 11), were studied. Results: Peak plasma E-selectin levels (172.0 ± 58.6 ng ml^-1) occurred during the acute phase of KD, while peak plasma P-selectin levels (260.3 ± 43.2 ng ml^-1) occurred during the subacute phase of the illness (p ≤ 0.05). Plasma L-selectin levels (1757.3 ± 244.3 ng ml^-1) during the convalescent phase tended to be higher than in either the acute or the subacute phase (not significant). Before intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, the plasma levels of E- (225.1 ± 46.8 ng ml^-1) and P-selectin (259.4 ± 76.2 ng ml^-1) of patients with CALs (n = 11) were significantly higher than those of patients (n = 22) with no CALs (E-selectin, 131.6 ± 36.9 ng ml^-1; P-selectin, 184.9 ± 84.6 ng ml^-1; p < 0.05). When a plasma E-selectin value before immunoglobulin treatment of >184.7 ng ml^-1 was used as the cut-off point, the sensitivity and specificity for the incidence of CALs were 81.8% and 90.9%, respectively. These findings demonstrate the relationship between plasma levels of selectins and disease severity of Kawasaki vasculitis. Conclusion: Higher plasma levels of E-selectin may have potential as a predictor of the incidence of coronary artery lesions in Kawasaki disease patients.