The Negative Predictive Value of Harada Scoring for Coronary Artery Dilatation or Aneurysm in Children with Kawasaki Disease: A Cross-sectional Study

The most common cause of coronary artery aneurysms in children is Kawasaki disease (KD). One of the risk ratings used to predict coronary artery aneurysms is the Harada score. This study aims to assess the negative predictive value (NPV) of Harada scoring in children with KD. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Mashhad (Iran) from January 2014 to December 2017. The Harada score was generated for each patient using demographic, laboratory, and echocardiography data retrieved from their medical records.  The patients were divided into typical and atypical cases, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and NPV were calculated. The Chi square test, independent t test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Fisher exact test were used to analyze the data in SPSS software (version 23.0). P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study involved 168 individuals with a mean age of 29.91±19.52 months, including 103 typical and 65 atypical cases. Regarding cardiac complications, the atypical group had a significantly greater rate of coronary artery tapering (P=0.030). Out of 101 patients with cardiac complications, the Harada score was positive in 57 cases, while it was falsely negative in the remaining 44 patients. The calculated sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 56.44%, 53.73%, 64.77%, and 45%, respectively.  The findings revealed that the Harada scoring is ineffective in detecting coronary artery aneurysms or dilation in KD patients.