Trial of Atorvastatin on the Persistent Coronary Aneurysm in Children With Kawasaki Disease

Background Kawasaki disease (KD) is characterized by fever, bilateral nonexudative conjunctivitis, erythema of the lips and oral mucosa, changes in the extremities, rash, and cervical lymphadenopathy. Incidence of late coronary artery aneurysms or ectasia, which may lead to myocardial infarction (MI), sudden death, or ischemic heart disease, decreased after the introduction of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. However, significant persistent coronary arterial lesions or aneurysms may still occur in about 1-3 % of the patients. Atorvastatin (Lipitor®), a kind of statin, is a selective competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. This drug had been safely and widely used for treatment of adult hyperlipidemia, prevention of coronary heart disease and familial hypercholesterolemia in childhood. In addition to the cholesterol-lowering effects, statins exerts diverse cellular, cholesterol-independent effects, including improvement in endothelial function, inhibition of neurohormonal activation, and reduction in levels of proinflammatory cytokines. Based on the above concepts, some patients with infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms received statin therapies and then the growth rate of aneurysms slowed down. Therefore, the investigators may hypothesize that Atorvastatin is helpful in the regression of persistent coronary lesions in KD patients due to its effect of anti-inflammation. In NTUH, there are about 20 KD patients with coronary lesions persistent for many years. And the investigators plan to conduct the clinical trial with atorvastatin to evaluate the effects of Atorvastatin on the persistent coronary arterial lesions/aneurysms in children with Kawasaki disease including safety and efficacy. Methods There are around 20 KD patients eligible for this study. After they sign the IRB-approved ICF, they will be enrolled for this study. Briefly, this study is divided into three stages: screening \& enrollment stage (I), treatme