OBJECTIVETo investigate the expression of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and itd significance in children with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)-resistant Kawasaki disease (KD).

METHODSA total of 271 children with KD who received IVIG treatment (including 252 IVIG-sensitive cases and 19 IVIG-resistant cases) were selected in the study; 78 of the 271 children had coronary artery dilation. Thirty-six age-matched healthy children were selected as the control group. Plasma sICAM-1 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. White blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count, C-relative protein (CRP), aspartate aminotransferase(AST), serum sodium, and serum potassium were measured by laboratory tests.

RESULTSBefore IVIG treatment, the IVIG-sensitive cases and IVIG-resistant cases had significantly higher sICAM-1 levels than the control group (P<0.05), and the IVIG-resistant cases had significantly higher sICAM-1 levels than the IVIG-sensitive cases (P<0.05). After 24-48 hours of IVIG treatment, the IVIG-resistant cases had significantly higher sICAM-1 levels than the IVIG-sensitive cases (P<0.05). Before IVIG treatment, among the IVIG-sensitive cases, the sICAM-1 level was significantly higher in those with coronary artery dilation than in those without coronary artery dilation (P<0.05); among the IVIG-resistant cases, the sICAM-1 level was significantly higher in those with coronary artery dilation than in those without coronary artery dilation (P<0.05). In the IVIG-resistant cases, sICAM-1 level was positively correlated with WBC (before and after treatment) (r=0.7562, P<0.01; r=0.8435, P<0.01) and CRP (after treatment) (r=0.8936, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONSHigh sICAM-1 level may be used as a risk factor for resistance to IVIG and coronary artery dilation in children with KD.