Lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio combined with albumin upon admission predicts coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: We aimed to explore simple and effective clinical parameters or combinations to predict coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease (KD).

Design and methods: This retrospective cohort study included pediatric patients with KD from January, 2013 to December, 2022. Multiple demographic and clinical data were collected, collated, and calculated from the medical records. Then they were divided into the coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group or the non-coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group. Lymphocyte-C-reactive protein ratio (LCR) was transformed into its natural logarithm and expressed as lnLCR.

Results: A total of 64 pediatric patients with KD were enrolled in this cohort study after 1:3 propensity score matching (PSM). For each unit increase in lnLCR, the possibility of coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation decreased to 0.419 times the original value. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of lnLCR combined with albumin (ALB), ALB, and lnLCR to classify pediatric patients with KD into the coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation group were 0.781, 0.692, and 0.743, respectively.

Conclusion: LCR combined with ALB upon admission is a promising predictor of coronary artery dilation and aneurysm formation in pediatric patients with KD.