Variation in the management of Kawasaki disease in Australia and New Zealand: A survey of paediatricians

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to describe the current management practices for Kawasaki disease (KD) in Australia and New Zealand.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis on the Australian and New Zealand responses to a large international survey of clinicians' perspectives on KD diagnosis and management.

Results: There was general consensus among Australian and New Zealand clinicians regarding the indications for intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin in the management of acute KD. There was less consensus on the dose of these agents, the definition and management of treatment-resistant KD and the approach to long-term thromboprophylaxis.

Conclusion: Most clinicians use intravenous immunoglobulin for primary treatment of KD. There is variation regarding other aspects of KD diagnosis and important management issues. Future studies should confirm whether this reported variation occurs in real-world practice and assess potential impacts on patient outcome.

Keywords: Kawasaki disease; aspirin; intravenous immunoglobulin; mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome.