Coronary artery assessment in Kawasaki disease with dual-source CT angiography to uncover vascular pathology

Background Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis with formation of coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) that can lead to myocardial ischemia. Echocardiography is the primary imaging modality for the coronary arteries despite limited visualization. Coronary angiography (CAG) is the gold standard yet invasive with high-radiation exposure. To date however, state-of-the-art CT scanners enable high-quality low-dose coronary computed tomographic angiography (cCTA) imaging. The aim of our study in KD is to report (i) the diagnostic yield of cCTA compared to echocardiography, and (ii) the radiation dose. Methods and results We collected data of KD patients who underwent cCTA. cCTA findings were compared with echocardiography results. In 70 KD patients (median age 15.1 years [0.5–59.5 years]; 78% male; 38% giant CAA), the cCTA identified 61 CAAs, of which 34 (56%, with a Z score > 3, in 22 patients) were not detected by echocardiography. In addition, the left circumflex (aneurysmatic in 6 patients) was always visible upon cCTA and not detected upon echocardiography. Calcifications, plaques, and/or thrombi were visualized by cCTA in 25 coronary arteries (15 patients). Calcifications were seen as early as 2.7 years after onset of disease. In 5 patients, the cCTA findings resulted in an immediate change of treatment. The median effective dose (ED) in millisievert differed significantly ( p