Korean J Pediatr.  2009 Feb;52(2):234-241. 10.3345/kjp.2009.52.2.234.

Low T3 syndrome in Kawasaki disease: Relation to serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 and NT-proBNP

• Cho HK
• Sohn JA
• Kim HS
• Sohn S

• KMID: 2281681
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2009.52.2.234

Abstract

PURPOSE: We investigated the relationship between thyroid hormone and serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL-6) and N-terminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD).
METHODS
Serum levels of thyroid hormone, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and NT-proBNP were measured in 52 KD patients in the acute and subacute phase and 10 patients with acute febrile illness (control group). TNF-alpha and IL-6 were determined by sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Echocardiography was performed to detect coronary artery lesions (CAL) in KD patients.
RESULTS
Low T3 syndrome occurred in 63.5% of KD patients. T3 in the acute phase of KD was lower than that in the control. In KD patients, T3 was lowered in the acute phase and elevated in the subacute phase, whereas TNF-alpha, IL-6 and NT-proBNP were elevated in the acute phase and decreased in the subacute phase. NT-proBNP, and IL-6 were higher in patients with low T3 than in those with normal T3. In addition, T3 inversely correlated with IL-6 and NT-proBNP. Of the 4 patients with CAL, 3 had very low T3. Compared with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)-responsive patients, IVIG-resistant patients had lower T3 and higher IL-6 and NT-proBNP.
CONCLUSION
T3 decreases in the acute phase of KD and normalizes in the subacute phase without thyroid hormone replacement. Low T3 may be partially induced by IL-6 rather than TNF-alpha, and is strongly associated with high NT-proBNP. T3 in KD may be used for the differential diagnosis, monitoring the activity of the disease, and predicting the severity of inflammation.

Keyword

Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome; Euthyroid sick syndrome; Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Interleukin-6; Pro-brain natriuretic peptide

MeSH Terms

Coronary Vessels
Diagnosis, Differential
Echocardiography
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Euthyroid Sick Syndromes
Humans
Immunoglobulins
Inflammation
Interleukin-6
Interleukins
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome
Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
Peptide Fragments
Thyroid Gland
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Immunoglobulins
Interleukin-6
Interleukins
Natriuretic Peptide, Brain
Peptide Fragments
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha