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Coronary vessel wall abnormalities were found in adults long after Kawasaki disease

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Research area:medicine-clinicalcardiovascular

What the study found

Adults many years after severe Kawasaki disease often had coronary vessel wall abnormalities on optical coherence tomography, a high-resolution imaging test. These abnormalities were seen even in some regressed aneurysms, which are widened coronary arteries that had later become smaller.

Why the authors say this matters

The authors conclude that these findings suggest a need to improve screening and monitoring of adult coronary problems related to Kawasaki disease. They also say the results may help identify substrates for acute coronary syndrome, a sudden reduction in blood flow to the heart.

What the researchers tested

The researchers used optical coherence tomography (OCT), a high-resolution imaging method, in 11 adults who had been followed for at least 15 years after acute Kawasaki disease with coronary artery aneurysms of 6 mm or more. They compared OCT findings across 51 coronary segments and also considered prior coronary angiography and cardiac multi-detector computed tomography findings.

What worked and what didn't

Among 51 coronary segments, OCT found fibrocalcific plaque, fibroatheroma, superficial signal-rich regions with attenuation, microvessels, luminal thrombi, and ruptured plaque in varying numbers of segments. Nearly all normal segments showed no OCT-detected abnormalities, while coronary artery lesions, including regressed aneurysms, showed these abnormalities; advanced lesions on angiography and calcified plaques on computed tomography were associated with OCT-detected vessel wall abnormalities. The abstract does not report a treatment or intervention, only imaging findings.

What to keep in mind

The study involved only 11 patients, all with severe coronary involvement after Kawasaki disease, so the authors say the findings may not generalize to milder cases. The abstract also states that the results do not show causality.

Key points

  • Eleven adults were studied a median of 22.6 years after acute Kawasaki disease.
  • OCT found vessel wall abnormalities in many coronary artery lesion segments, including regressed aneurysms.
  • Normal coronary segments were mostly free of OCT-detected abnormalities.
  • Advanced angiography lesions and CT-detected calcified plaques were associated with OCT abnormalities.
  • The authors say the findings warrant further study for screening and monitoring.

Disclosure

Research title:
Coronary vessel wall abnormalities were found in adults long after Kawasaki disease
Authors:
Hiroyuki Ohashi, Yoshihide Mitani, Mitsuyasu Terashima, Toshiki Sawai, Hirofumi Sawada, Hidetoshi Hayakawa, Noriko Yodoya, Kaoru Dohi, Kakuya Kitagawa, Hajime Sakuma, Masahiro Hirayama
Institutions:
Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Mie University, Saiseikai Matsuyama Hospital, Toyohashi Heart Center
Publication date:
2026-02-25
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0342987
OpenAlex record:
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AI provenance: This post was generated by gpt-5.4-mini (OpenAI). The original authors did not write or review this post.

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