Kawasaki disease in African American children

Abstract

It is well known that Kawasaki disease has racial and ethnic variations in prevalence, response to intravenous gamma globulin, and outcomes. However, relatively little is known about African American children. In this volume of The Journal, Padilla et al report on comparisons between African American and white children with respect to Kawasaki Disease outcomes. They found that African American children were more likely to be refractory to IVIG treatment, have more severe inflammation, and had a greater proportion of persistent coronary artery abnormalities at follow-up compared with white children.