title: Quantitative evaluation of coronary artery wall echogenicity by integrated backscatter analysis in Kawasaki disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Coronary artery wall echogenicity increases on echocardiograms during the acute phase of Kawasaki disease (KD). According to this background, echogenicity of the coronary artery wall in patients with KD is quantified by using integrated backscatter (IB) analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  IB analysis is a quantitative method for evaluating echogenicity. We examined the value of IB in the wall of the left anterior descending coronary artery and compared it with that in adjacent intracardiac blood as a measure of background. The difference between these values is represented as corrected IB for the coronary artery wall.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Corrected IB for the coronary artery wall was higher in patients with KD than in controls (KD with pre-immunoglobulin therapy vs. controls: 27.4 +/- 5.3 dB vs. 22.0 +/- 3.5 dB, P < .05) and in patients with coronary enlargement after intravenous immunoglobulin (with vs. without coronary enlargement, 29.2 +/- 5.2 dB vs. 24.1 +/- 5.5 dB, P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The magnitude of IB from the coronary artery wall reflects the effectiveness of immunoglobulin therapy. Furthermore, this method and its value might be useful to predict the occurrence of coronary enlargement in patients with KD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karasawa
authors.forename: Mikihito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ayusawa
authors.forename: Naokata
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sumitomo
authors.forename: Tomoo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Kensuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harada
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mugishima
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous