Intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of Kawasaki disease

[Evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki disease in children in China (2023)]

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute self-limiting vasculitis, and it is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children under 5 years old. One of the improvement goals in pediatric quality control work for the year 2023, as announced by the National Health Commission, is to reduce the incidence of cardiac events and KD-related mortality in children with KD. In order to standardize the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management practices of KD in China, and effectively prevent and reduce the incidence of coronary artery lesions and long-term adverse effects, the guideline working group followed the principles and methods outlined by the World Health Organization and referenced existing evidence and experiences to develop the "Evidence-based guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Kawasaki disease in children in China (2023)". The guidelines address the clinical questions regarding the classification and definition of KD, diagnosis of different types of KD, treatment during the acute phase of KD, application of echocardiography in identifying complications of KD, and management of KD combined with macrophage activation syndrome. Based on the best evidence and expert consensus, 20 recommendations were formulated, aiming to provide guidance and decision-making basis for healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of KD in children.

Fecal microbiota transplantation as a therapy for treating ulcerative colitis: an overview of systematic reviews

AIM

The current overview on published systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analysis (MAs) aimed to systematically gather, evaluate, and synthesize solid evidence for using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to treat ulcerative colitis (UC).

METHODS

Relevant articles published before January 2023 were collected from Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. Two authors used Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR-2) tool, PRISMA checklists, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system were applied by two authors to independently evaluate the methodological quality, reporting quality, and evidence quality, respectively. Re-meta-analysis on the primary RCTs was conducted after excluding overlapping randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

RESULTS

Six SRs/MAs involving 12 primary RCTs and 544 participants were included. According to the AMSTAR-2 tool and PRISMA checklist, methodological quality and reporting quality of the included studies was overall satisfactory. The evidence quality of a great majority of outcomes was rated as moderate to high according to the GRADE system. Compared to placebo, the re-meta-analysis found a great advantage of use FMT in inducing combined clinical and endoscopic remission (OR 3.83 [2.31, 6.34]), clinical remission (3.31 [2.09, 5.25]), endoscopic remission (OR 3.75 [2.20, 6.39]), clinical response (OR 2.56 [1.64, 4.00]), and endoscopic response (OR 2.18 [1.12, 4.26]). Pooled data showed no significant difference in serious adverse events between patients receiving FMT and those receiving placebo (OR 1.53 [0.74, 3.19]). Evidence quality of the outcomes derived from re-meta-analysis was significantly higher after overcoming the limitations of previous SRs/MAs.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, moderate- to high-quality evidence supported a promising use of FMT to safely induce remission in UC. However, further trials with larger sample size are still required to comprehensively analyze the delivery route, total dosage, frequency, and donor selection in FMT.

LncRNAs in Kawasaki disease and Henoch-Schönlein purpura: mechanisms and clinical applications

Kawasaki disease (KD) and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) are the two most predominant types of childhood vasculitis. In childhood vasculitis, factors such as lack of sensitive diagnostic indicators and adverse effects of drug therapy may cause multiorgan system involvement and complications and even death. Many studies suggest that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the mechanism of vasculitis development in children and can be used to diagnose or predict prognosis by lncRNAs. In existing drug therapies, lncRNAs are also involved in drug-mediated treatment mechanisms and are expected to improve drug toxicity. The aim of this review is to summarize the link between lncRNAs and the pathogenesis of KD and HSP. In addition, we review the potential applications of lncRNAs in multiple dimensions, such as diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction. This review highlights that targeting lncRNAs may be a novel therapeutic strategy to improve and treat KD and HSP.

Predictive value of albumin for intravenous immunoglobulin resistance in a large cohort of Kawasaki disease patients

BACKGROUND

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been the mainstay of treatment for Kawasaki disease (KD) over the past decades. However, 10-20% of KD patients are resistant to IVIG treatment which puts those patients at high risk of coronary artery lesions (CALs). Therefore, it is important to predict whether patients will be resistant to IVIG before the treatment. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for IVIG non-responsive patients with KD.

METHODS

This study enrolled patients diagnosed with KD and divided them into two groups, IVIG responders and IVIG non-responders. We compared the differences in demographics and clinical data between the two groups. Differences among the groups were analyzed by ANOVA and Chi-square analysis. Predictors of IVIG resistance were determined by multiple logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.

RESULTS

In total, 907 KD patients were reviewed, with 841 IVIG responders and 66 IVIG non-responders. Patients in IVIG responders were younger than IVIG non-responders. The length of hospitalization of the IVIG non-responders was significantly longer than IVIG responders. The neutrophils%, C-reaction protein (CRP), and CRP/albumin ratio in IVIG responders were significantly lower than in IVIG non-responders (P < 0.05). The lymphocyte% and Albumin in IVIG responders were significantly higher than in IVIG non-responders. Multivariable logistic regression analysis demonstrated that albumin (OR = 0.881, 95% CI, 0.781 to 0.994, p-value = 0.039) was an independent risk factor for predicting IVIG resistance. The area under the ROC curve was 0.644, with a cut-off of ≤ 33.4 g/L determined by Youden's index. The sensitivity and specificity in predicting IVIG resistance were 40.91% and 83.47%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Albumin can serve as a potential predicting marker for IVIG resistance in KD. A lower albumin level may be useful for identifying KD patients with a high risk of IVIG resistance to guide further therapy strategies.