Background: Transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography is an effective method for detecting coronary arterial injury in Kawasaki disease. However, its accuracy in the diagnosis of coronary arterial lesions is limited.
Objective: To investigate the value of multislice spiral CT for coronary angiography for observing the coronary arterial injury caused by infantile Kawasaki disease.
Materials and methods: Coronary angiography, using a 64-slice spiral CT scanner, and 2-D echocardiography were performed in 48 children with Kawasaki disease in whom the position, internal diameter, and length of each coronary artery were measured.
Results: MSCT showed coronary artery injury in 15 of the 48 children. Among these 15 children, 20 coronary artery branches showed complications, including the left coronary artery branches in 15 (31.2%) and the right coronary artery branches in 5 (10.4%). Complications in the left coronary artery branches included dilation in 12 (25.0%) and stenosis, calcification and the combination of the two in one each, and the right coronary artery branches showed dilation; two branches also showed beaded changes. MSCT also showed dilation in the left anterior descending arteries in two children. These children showed no abnormality on 2-D echocardiography.
Conclusion: MSCT is a valuable examination method for detecting coronary artery injury in Kawasaki disease.