According to a study in the October issue of Pediatrics, steroids when added to the standard treatment can considerably minimize the probability of developing heart damage in children with Kawasaki’s disease.

It is worth noting that these study finding address a gap in knowledge as present guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics state that the evidence for benefits of steroid treatment are lacking and the recommended standard treatment is aspirin and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG).

From News-Medical.Net:

Aronoff hopes that a multi-center study, currently underway, will provide further evidence of the benefits of steroid treatment for Kawasaki’s disease. Also needed is more evidence about the most effective types and doses of steroids.

Kawasaki’s disease, one of the leading causes of acquired heart disease in children, inflames the blood vessels leading to the heart. The cause of Kawasaki’s is unknown. Signs of the disease include fever lasting longer than 5 days, skin rash, red eyes, palms and foot soles and swollen lymph nodes. If not treated within five to ten days, it can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening, complications. Fortunately, Kawasaki’s is treatable and most children recover fully.

Stephen Aronoff, MD, lead author of the meta-analysis and Temple University School of Medicine professor and chair of pediatrics, said that the knowledge gap was the reason for this study to examine the benefits of steroids more closely, It was also said by Aronoff that steroids in a combination with aspirin and IVGB can considerably minimize the probability of inflammation development of the heart blood vessels by half.