Infliximab treatment for refractory kawasaki disease in korean children.
OBJECTIVE
This was a multicenter study to evaluate the usefulness of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) blocker infliximab for treatment of Korean pediatric patients with refractory Kawasaki disease (KD).


METHODS
Data from 16 patients throughout Korea who were diagnosed with refractory KD and received infliximab were collected retrospectively.


RESULTS
Complete response to therapy with cessation of fever occurred in 13 of 16 patients. C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations decreased following infliximab infusion in all 14 patients in whom it was measured before and after treatment. There were no infusion reactions or complications associated with infliximab except in 1 case with acute hepatitis occurring during treatment followed by calculous cholecystitis 4 months later. Fifteen patients had coronary artery (CA) abnormalities before infliximab therapy. Three had transient mild dilatation and 9 had CA aneurysms, with subsequent normalization in 4 patients, persistent mild dilatation in 3, persistent aneurysm in 2, and there were 3 cases (2 with CA aneurysm, 1 with mild CA dilatation) without follow-up echocardiography.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study suggest that infliximab may be useful in the treatment of refractory KD, and it appears that there is no significant further progression of CA lesions developing after infliximab treatment. Multicenter trials with larger numbers of patients and long-term follow-up are necessary to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of infliximab in refractory KD.
Song
Min Seob
MS
Department of Pediatrics, Paik Hospital, College of Medicine, Inje University, Busan, Korea.
Lee
Sang Bum
SB
Sohn
Sejung
S
Oh
Jin Hee
JH
Yoon
Kyung Lim
KL
Han
Ji Whan
JW
Kim
Chul Ho
CH