Retrospective observational study indicates that the paediatric assessment triangle may suggest the severity of Kawasaki disease.

Aim: We examined whether the paediatric assessment triangle (PAT) could predict the severity of Kawasaki disease.

Methods: We enroled patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease between July 2012 and June 2016 at the emergency department of Tokyo Metropolitan Children's Medical Center in Tokyo, Japan. Triage nurses assigned participants to unstable or stable PAT groups. We compared the incidence of coronary artery aneurysms (CAA), the Kobayashi score, which measures resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, and the incidence of initial treatment resistance.

Results: Of the 420 participants, who were aged 0-145 months with a mean age of 31.2 ± 23.9 months, 66 (16%) were assigned to the unstable PAT group. The incidence of CAA was similar between the two groups. The percentage of unstable PAT group participants with a Kobayashi score of at least five points (39 versus 18%, p < 0.001) and initial treatment resistance (25 versus 15%, p = 0.047) were significantly higher than in the stable PAT group. Unstable PAT was an independent risk factor for initial treatment resistance (odds ratio 2.02, 95% confidence interval 1.05-3.90, p = 0.035).

Conclusion: An unstable PAT was able to predict the severity of Kawasaki disease when measured by a higher rate of initial treatment resistance.