Nationwide survey of pregnancy and delivery in patients with coronary arterial lesions caused by Kawasaki disease in Japan.
BACKGROUND
Our purpose was to determine the outcome of pregnancy and delivery in patients with coronary arterial lesions caused by Kawasaki disease.


RESULTS
We surveyed by mail the Japanese national experience of pregnancy and delivery in patients known to have Kawasaki disease. The first questionnaire was returned by 154 of 207 (74%) institutions, and 16 of the 154 had knowledge of deliveries in their patients. Based on a second questionnaire, and previous Japanese case reports, we identified 46 deliveries in 30 patients from 16 institutions. The age at delivery ranged from 18 to 35 years, with a median of 27 years. Of the patients, 4 had undergone coronary arterial bypass grafting. Low-dose aspirin was given in 16 patients. The deliveries, 27 in all, had been vaginal in 20 patients, albeit that 7 required assistance by forceps or vacuum extraction under epidural anesthesia. Caesarean section had been performed in 11 patients, 3 for obstetric indications, and 1 for chest discomfort in the third trimester. Although there were no cardiac events, obstetric complications occurred in 2.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of pregnancy and delivery were favourable. The mode of delivery should be primarily determined by obstetrical considerations, rather than the coronary arterial lesions caused by Kawasaki disease. Excessive anticoagulant therapy may not be needed for this population.
Department of Pediatrics, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan. etsuda@hsp.ncvc.go.jp
Etsuko
E
Tsuda
Kazuya
K
Kawamata
Reiko
R
Neki
Shigeyuki
S
Echigo
Yoshihide
Y
Chiba
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001241:Aspirin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002585:Cesarean Section; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000209:etiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D005343:Fibrinolytic Agents; D001241:Aspirin