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Increase in Kawasaki disease hospitalizations reported worldwide
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The hospitalization rate for Kawasaki disease among children significantly increased from 2003 to 2010, according to study findings in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.
Laura S. Callinan, MPH, of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, and colleagues analyzed hospitalizations of children younger than 5 years for Kawasaki disease from the California State Inpatient Database.
Data showed 4,740 hospitalizations for Kawasaki disease in California from 2003 to 2010. The annual hospitalization rate among young children was 20.5 per 100,000 hospitalizations in 2003 and increased to 24.7 per 100,000 hospitalizations in 2010. Researchers found the annual rate increased from 2003 to 2006 and remained stable through 2010. Male children had a higher hospitalization rate (29.3 per 100,000) than female children (19.8 per 100,000).
Regarding ethnicity, Asian/Pacific Islander children had the highest hospitalization rate for Kawasaki disease (50.4 per 100,000) in 2010 vs. black children (29.8 per 100,000) and white children (22.5 per 100,000). Although the rate was highest for Asian/Pacific Islander children in 2010, researchers found no significant trend in the annual hospitalization rate.
“In Japan, a dramatic annual increase in the Kawasaki disease incidence rate has been reported since surveillance was initiated in the 1970s. While no nationwide increase in the Kawasaki disease hospitalization rate has been seen in the United States, several countries have noted a rate increase in Kawasaki disease; however, it is unknown if the increase is the result of improved awareness, diagnosis and reporting, or a true increase in the rate of Kawasaki disease,” Callinan and colleagues concluded.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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