Background.– Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, self-limiting vasculitis of unknown etiology. The incidence of KD is increasing worldwide. However, there is a lack of data on Kawasaki disease and its effect on coronary arteries in Algeria and other developing countries.

Objective .– To describe the pattern of cardiovascular involvement in Algerian children admitted with Kawasaki disease and to highlight the practical difficulties.

Methods.– This retrospective study included children admitted with Kawasaki disease at the paediatric unit over a period of 7 years from September 2005 to December 2012. A standardized form was used to collect demographic data, clinical information, and echocardiography and laboratory results.

Results.– Ninety-four patients with KD, with a mean age of 31 months were identified. There were 51 boys and 43 girls (sex ratio: 1.2). Twenty-three children (24%) had evidence of cardiac complications: 21(22%) had coronary artery abnormalities; one child had mitral regurgitation, one had pericardial effusion. Of the 21 children with coronary abnormalities, eight had coronary dilatation, 13 had coronary aneurysms (ten small and medium, three giant).

These abnormalities regressed in 13 cases on follow up. No cases of acute myocardial infarction and no fatal outcomes were recorded during the follow-up period. The only independent variable for prediction of coronary involvement was fever > 16 days duration. We failed to detect a statistically significant association between the frequency of coronary sequels and any of the following (age, sex, white blood cell counts., platelet count; erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C Reactive Protein).

The therapeutic used in this study include an immunoglobulin treatment for only 58% of the children, half of which received it within the first ten days of the onset of the disease.

Conclusion.– A high incidence of coronary artery involvement was found in our study. This work raises the necessity of having a national data collection that will allow to better appreciate the incidence of this disease and therefore better identify and treat it in a timely fashion manner.