medwireNews: The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Vasculitis Foundation have issued evidence-based recommendations and expert guidance on managing Kawasaki disease (KD).
“Recognizing the comprehensive guidelines developed by the American Heart Association for the management of KD, the guideline focuses on clinical management questions that are generally posed to rheumatologists, such as the use of adjunctive therapies for initial treatment of severe disease and treatment approaches for refractory disease,” say Sharon Chung (University of California, San Francisco, USA) and co-authors.
They note, however, that the guidelines “are relevant to physicians treating KD regardless of their area of expertise.”
The guidelines include 11 treatment recommendations, one good practice statement recommending that all patients should receive initial treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and one upgraded position statement on the use of nonglucocorticoid immunosuppressant therapy or glucocorticoids in patients with an inadequate response to IVIG.
Chung and team say that their recommendations “can serve as a resource for basic principles of management and will evolve as new treatment strategies for this disease are identified.”
The guidelines were developed using GRADE methodology and are published simultaneously in Arthritis Care & Research and Arthritis & Rheumatology.
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Arthritis Care Res 2022; doi:10.1002/acr.24838
Arthritis Rheumatol 2022; doi:10.1002/art.42041