Original Article

Clinical characteristics of Kawasaki disease under 6 months infants

  • LI Cancan ,
  • ZHU Xueping ,
  • SUN Wenqiang ,
  • ZHANG Han ,
  • GENG Haifeng
Expand
  • Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215025, Jiangsu, China

Received date: 2025-10-17

  Accepted date: 2026-01-05

  Online published: 2026-03-06

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to analyze the clinical manifestations, coronary artery lesion (CAL) features, and independent risk factors/predictive indicators for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) non-response in infants with Kawasaki disease (KD) under 6 months of age. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on clinical data of 435 KD infants aged 0-12 months who were hospitalized January 2020 to December 2024. Patients were stratified into the 0-5 months group (under 6 months) and 6-12 months group; the 0-5 months group was further subdivided into incomplete KD (iKD) and complete KD (cKD) subgroups. Differences in core clinical characteristics between the 0-5 months and 6-12 months groups were analyzed, and phenotypic variations between the iKD and cKD subgroups were compared. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for CAL and IVIg non-response in the 0-5 months group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the predictive efficacy of candidate variables for IVIg non-response. Results A total of 179 patients (41.1%) were included in the 0-5 month group. Compared with the 6-12 months group, the 0-5 months group exhibited a significantly higher incidence of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) scar erythema/swelling and elevated inflammation-related markers such as platelet count, alongside lower frequencies of typical KD symptoms like conjunctival hyperemia and reduced albumin/hemoglobin levels. The incidence of CAL was also higher in the 0-5 months group (47.5%; all P<0.05). Within the 0-5 months group, 73 patients (40.8%) were diagnosed with iKD, presenting fewer typical symptoms, a higher CAL incidence (58.9%), and a higher IVIg non-response rate than the cKD subgroup (all P < 0.05). Multivariate regression revealed that BCG scar erythema/swelling was independently associated with an increased risk of CAL (OR=2.81, 95% CI: 1.44-5.48, P=0.002). Conjunctival hyperemia was inversely correlated with IVIg non-response (OR=0.15, 95% CI: 0.03-0.89, P=0.036), while a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR)≥3.78 (OR=3.17, 95% CI: 1.37-7.31, P=0.007) and fever duration≥6.5 days (OR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.03-1.84, P=0.029) were identified as independent risk factors for IVIg non-response. The combined model of NLR≥3.78 and fever duration≥6.5 days yielded an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.888 for predicting IVIg non-response, with a sensitivity of 0.867 and specificity of 0.841. Conclusions KD infants under 6 months of age often present with atypical manifestations. iKD in this age group is associated with a higher incidence of CAL and IVIg non-response. BCG scar erythema/swelling is closely linked to CAL development. The combination of NLR≥3.78 and fever duration≥6.5 days has robust predictive value for IVIg non-response, while conjunctival hyperemia may facilitate the early identification and management of IVIg-nonresponsive KD in infants under 6 months.

Cite this article

LI Cancan , ZHU Xueping , SUN Wenqiang , ZHANG Han , GENG Haifeng . Clinical characteristics of Kawasaki disease under 6 months infants[J]. Journal of Clinical Pediatrics, 2026 , 44(3) : 209 -216 . DOI: 10.12372/jcp.2026.25e1284

References

[1] Jone PN, Tremoulet A, Choueiter N, et al. Update on diagnosis and management of Kawasaki disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association[J]. Circulation, 2024, 150(23): e481-e500.
[2] Elakabawi K, Lin J, Jiao F, et al. Kawasaki disease: global burden and genetic background[J]. Cardiol Res, 2020, 11(1) : 9-14.
[3] Faim D, Henriques C, Brett A, et al. Kawasaki disease: predictors of resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin and cardiac complications[J]. Arq Bras Cardiol, 2021, 116(3): 485-491.
[4] Fukazawa R, Kobayashi J, Ayusawa M, et al. JCS/JSCS 2020 guideline on diagnosis and management of cardiovascular sequelae in Kawasaki disease[J]. Circ J, 2020, 84(8): 1348-1407.
[5] Son MBF, Gauvreau K, Newburger JW. Failure of risk prediction modeling for IVIg resistance in Kawasaki disease[J]. Pediatrics, 2023, 151(5): e2022060423.
[6] Kim DS. Kawasaki disease[J]. Yonsei Med J. 2006, 47(6): 759-772.
[7] 黄玉娟, 黄敏. 川崎病静脉注射丙种球蛋白无反应预测模型研究现状[J]. 临床儿科杂志, 2022, 40(7): 481-487.
  Huang YJ, Huang M. Research status of predictive model for IVIg resistance in Kawasaki disease[J]. Linchuang Erke Zazhi, 2022, 40(7): 481-487.
[8] Qian W, Tang Y, Yan W, et al. A comparison of efficacy of six prediction models for intravenous immune globulin resistance in Kawasaki disease[J]. Ital J Pediatr, 2018, 44(1): 33.
[9] Salgado AP, Ashouri N, Berry EK, et al. High risk of coronary artery aneurysms in infants younger than 6 months of age with Kawasaki disease[J]. J Pediatr, 2017, 185: 112-116.
[10] Kitano N, Takeuchi T, Suenaga T, et al. Seasonal variation in epidemiology of Kawasaki disease-related coronary artery abnormalities in Japan, 1999-2017 [J]. J Epidemiol, 2021, 31(2): 132-138.
[11] 徐明艳, 邹亚伟, 梁燕锦, 等. 外周血NLR、PLR、SII在婴幼儿川崎病中的临床意义[J]. 中国妇幼健康研究, 2025, 36 (4) : 78-84.
  Xu MY, Zou YW, Liang YJ et al. Clinical values of NLR, PLR and SII in peripheral blood for diagnosis of Kawasaki disease in infants[J]. Zhongguo Fuyou Jiankang Yanjiu, 2025, 36 (4) : 78-84.
[12] Jiao F, Pan Y, Du Z, et al. Guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of incomplete Kawasaki disease in children in China[J]. BMC Pediatr, 2024, 24(1): 477.
[13] Koliou MG, Aristidou A, Mazeri S, et al. Epidemiology and risk factors for resistance to treatment of Kawasaki disease in Cyprus[J]. Sci Rep, 2023, 13(1): 352.
[14] Zhao QM, Huang M, Huang MR, et al. Characteristics and trends in diagnosis of Kawasaki disease outside the usual age range[J]. Clin Rheumatol, 2021, 40(4): 1515-1523.
[15] Ramos M, Seguro Paula F, Carvalho A, et al. Kawasaki disease: a rare case of a non-pediatric patient[J]. Cureus, 2024, 16(11): e74824.
[16] 穆志龙, 焦富勇, 谢凯生. 《川崎病心血管后遗症的诊断和管理指南(JCS/JSCS 2020)》解读[J]. 中国当代儿科杂志, 2021, 23(3): 213-220.
  Mu ZL, Jiao FY, Xie KS. Interpretation of the JCS/JSCS 2020 guideline on diagnosis and management of cardiovascular sequelae in Kawasaki disease[J]. Zhongguo Dangdai Erke Zazhi, 2021, 23(3): 213-220.
[17] Galeotti C, Bajolle F, Belot A, et al. French national diagnostic and care protocol for Kawasaki disease[J]. Rev Med Interne, 2023, 44(7): 354-380.
[18] Shi L, Li J, Qie D, et al. Clinical manifestations of Kawasaki disease in different age groups: retrospective data from Southwest China[J]. Clin Rheumatol, 2020, 39(10): 3027-3032.
[19] Liu HH, Qiu Z, Fan GZ, et al. Assessment of coronary artery abnormalities and variability of Z-score calculation in the acute episode of Kawasaki disease: a retrospective study from China[J]. Eur J Clin Invest, 2021, 51(3): e13409.
[20] Kitano N, Suzuki H, Takeuchi T. Patient age and the seasonal pattern of onset of Kawasaki’s disease[J]. N Engl J Med, 2018, 378 (21) : 2048-2049.
[21] Roh DE, Kwon JE, Kim YH. Bacille calmette-guérin site reactivation of Kawasaki disease in infants under 3 months of age: relation with diagnosis and prognosis[J]. Children (Basel), 2022, 9(6): 857.
[22] Kobayashi T, Ayusawa M, Suzuki H, et al. Revision of diagnostic guidelines for Kawasaki disease (6th revised edition)[J]. Pediatr Int, 2020, 62(10): 1135-1138.
[23] 李雪琴, 王江涛, 王晓玲, 等. 6月龄以下川崎病患儿发生冠状动脉病变的特点及危险因素分析[J]. 检验医学与临床, 2022, 19(16): 2177-2180.
  Li XQ, Wang JT, Wang XL et al. Analysis of the characteristics and risk factors of coronary artery lesions in children with Kawasaki disease under 6 months of age[J]. Jianyan Yixue Yu Linchuang, 2022, 19(16): 2177-2180.
[24] An HS, Kim GB, Song MK, et al. The occurrence of coronary artery lesions in Kawasaki disease based on C-reactive protein levels: a retrospective cohort study[J]. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J, 2021, 19(1): 78.
[25] Morales-Quispe JA, Espinola-Zavaleta N, Caballero-Caballero R, et al. Clinical evolution and cardiovascular complications in children with Kawasaki disease[J]. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc, 2011, 49(3): 295-300.
[26] Wu S, Long Y, Chen S, et al. A new scoring system for prediction of intravenous immunoglobulin resistance of Kawasaki disease in infants under 1-year old[J]. Front Pediatr, 2019, 7(1): 514.
[27] Chen Y, Hua Y, Zhang C, et al. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predicts intravenous immunoglobulin-resistance in infants under 12-months old with Kawasaki disease[J]. Front Pediatr, 2019, 7( 1) : 81.
[28] Kanai T, Takeshita S, Kawamura Y, et al. The combination of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios as a novel predictor of intravenous immunoglobulin resistance in patients with Kawasaki disease: a multicenter study[J]. Heart Vessels, 2020, 35(10): 1463-1472.
[29] Li G, Xu X, Chen P, et al. Prognostic value of pretreatment prognostic nutritional index in intravenous immunoglobulin-resistant Kawasaki disease[J]. Heart Vessels, 2021, 36(9): 1366-1373.
[30] Yi C, Zhou YN, Guo J, et al. Novel predictors of intravenous immunoglobulin resistance in patients with Kawasaki disease: a retrospective study[J]. Front Immunol, 2024, 15: 1399150.
Outlines

/