A value less than 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. levels and lower eosinophil levels before IVIG treatment (tests, and comparisons between groups were done using chi-square tests. Changes before and after IVIG treatment were tested by the paired sample test. A value less than 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. All statistical tests were performed using SPSS 12.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Results Patient Characteristics The mean age of the KD patients was significantly younger than that of the patients with EV (20.39??1.28 vs. 28.32??4.50?months, valuea tests was considered significant Laboratory Data Before IVIG Treatment Before IVIG therapy, the Hb level of the KD patients was lower than that of the EV patients (10.97??1.32?g/dl vs. 12.53??1.78?g/dl, valuewhite blood cell; hemoglobin aValues are expressed as mean??standard deviation b test Laboratory Data After IVIG Treatment After IVIG therapy, the KD patients had a lower Hb level than the EV patients (10.62??1.18?g/dl vs. 11.65??1.90; valuewhite blood cell; hemoglobin aValues are expressed as mean??standard deviation b test Laboratory Data of the KD Drofenine Hydrochloride Patients After IVIG therapy, the KD Drofenine Hydrochloride patients had higher levels of platelets (34.71??11.94??104/mm3 vs. 45.02??15.96??104/mm3; valuewhite blood cell; hemoglobin aValues are expressed as mean??standard deviation bWithin 3?days after the first dose of IVIG treatment c test Laboratory Data of the EV Patients After IVIG therapy, the EV patients had a significantly decreased Hb level (11.65??1.90?g/dl vs. 12.53??1.78?g/dl; valuewhite blood cell; hemoglobin aValues are expressed as mean??standard deviation bWithin 3?days after the first dose of IVIG treatment c test Discussion In our previous study we found that patients with KD have a higher percentage of eosinophils than control subjects [15]. In addition, post-IVIG eosinophilia (peripheral blood eosinophils, 4?%) had an inverse correlation with IVIG resistance in KD patients. Levels of eosinophil-related mediators, IL-4, IL-5, eotaxin, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), also were found to be higher in KD patients than in control subjects before IVIG treatment [12]. After IVIG treatment, levels of ECP decreased, but levels of IL-4, IL-5, and eotaxin increased significantly. The lower the IL-5 and eosinophil levels were after IVIG treatment, the higher the rate of CAL that was found [12]. The Th2 cytokines did not differ between KD patients with an allergic disease history and those without such a history. Therefore, it is interesting to consider whether the Th2 immune response (eosinophil, IL-5, IL-4, and eotaxin) results from the IVIG treatment or from the disease course of KD. We hypothesized that eosinophils in KD are a witness of the Th2 immune response due to the eosinophil positivity associated with the Th2 immune response (IL-5) but not with its activation marker (ECP). Moreover, eosinophils also are a witness of disease outcome (CAL formation and IVIG treatment response) in the acute stage and may have some role Drofenine Hydrochloride in the late allergy. Both EV and KD patients receive high-dose IVIG treatment during the acute phase of their disease. However, there been no reports on eosinophil levels in EV patients nor any comparisons between EV and KD patients. It is important to Rabbit polyclonal to ZBTB1 investigate Drofenine Hydrochloride whether the eosinophilia found in KD may also be found in EV patients after IVIG treatment to distinguish whether eosinophilia is IVIG related or disease related. A recent report found that allergic diseases (e.g., asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis) are more common among patients with KD than among control subjects [18]. Patients with KD have a greater tendency for atopy because an older age is associated with a higher susceptibility to allergies. The patients with EV also had elevated eosinophil levels after IVIG therapy in our study, although the levels were not as high as for the KD patients after IVIG treatment. The development of allergic.