Connecting the dots Monitoring strategies and long-term consequences of Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a paediatric vasculitis mainly occurring in young children. The diagnosis of the disease is based on the presence of clinical criteria as no specific biomarker is available. The most important complication of KD is the development of coronary artery aneurysms (CAA). It is unclear whether KD, apart from the presence or absence of CAA, causes an increased cardiovascular risk at a later age. The first part of this thesis consists of a systematic review, a cross-sectional study and a follow-up study evaluating surrogate markers for cardiovascular risk in patients after KD. It also includes a paper discussing the current guidelines and possible ways to follow-up the patients using different cardiovascular imaging techniques. The second part of this thesis consists of two studies focusing on patients with the largest, so-called giant CAA. Different risk factors for the development as well as the consequences of these CAA are assessed and discussed. The last part of this thesis consists of a study evaluating two inflammatory markers in patients during the acute phase of KD.