Kawasaki disease
What is Kawasaki disease?
Kawasaki disease (KD) is a childhood vasculitis with life threatening potential. KD can cause heart damage (from coronary artery enlargement) in 25% of patients, particularly if treatment is delayed or not provided.
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​High-dose IVIg, used since the 1980s, is the only intervention shown to prevent the development of cardiac complications of KD and is recommended as first-line therapy. Yet, there is currently no national evidence-based treatment guideline and significant variability in the use of IVIg for KD in Australia.
Stream Lead: Prof David Burgner
PAEDS-KD
Funded by the NBA and part of the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) research network, PAEDS-KD is the largest KD study ever conducted in Australia.
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Advances in understanding of KD pathophysiology and growing use of biological therapies suggest that new targeted therapies for KD will likely become available in the future. When they do, it will be important to understand the potential impact (and costs) of these agents compared to current standard of care (high-dose IVIg) prior to a new therapy being funded by Australian governments.
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Health economic analyses of PAEDS-KD data will provide valuable evidence on the the cost of care in Australia, in comparison to new targeted therapies.