All issues > Volume 51(12); 2008

Original Article

Korean J Pediatr. 2008;51(12):1320-1323. Published online December 15, 2008.

Epidemiologic study of Kawasaki disease in 6 months old and younger infants

Yong Won YW Park¹, Ji Whan JW Han², In Sook IS Park³, Chang Hwi CH Kim⁴, Sung Ho SH Cha⁵, Jae Sook JS Ma⁶, Joon Sung JS Lee², Tae Chan TC Kwon⁷, Sang Bum SB Lee⁸, Chul Ho CH Kim¹, Heung Jae HJ Lee⁹, Yong Soo YS Yun¹⁰

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Inje University, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Seoul, Korea
³Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul, Korea
⁴Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Korea
⁵Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea
⁶Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicin, Chonnam National University, Kwangju, Korea
⁷Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Keimyung University, Taegu, Korea
⁸Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Taegu, Korea
⁹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea
¹⁰Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Yong Won YW Park ,Email: yongpw@hanmail.net

Abstract

Purpose
: The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic status of Kawasaki disease (KD) in infants ≤6 months of age.
Methods
: For the epidemiologic study of KD in Korea, data from 22,674 KD patients were collected from 1997 to 2005 on a 3-year basis by a retrospective survey. From this survey, data of 1,739 KD patients ≤6 months of age were analyzed and compared with those of KD patients >6 months of age.
Results
: A total of 1,739 patients ≤6 months of age, including 1,088 males and 651 females, represented 7.7% of total KD patients. These subjects included 22 patients aged <1 month, 171 patients aged 1-2 months, 304 patients aged 2-3 months, 407 patients aged 3-4 months, 372 patients aged 4-5 months, and 463 patients aged 5-6 months. Their mean age of onset was 4.3 months, and the male-to-female ratio was 1.67:1. Incidences of coronary arterial (CA) abnormalities (21.0% versus 18.7%) and CA aneurysms (4.7% versus 3.1%) detected by echocardiography showed differences between patients with KD younger and older than 6 months, respectively.
Conclusion
: Comparison of data from KD patients >6 months old with data from 1,739 KD patients ≤6 months old showed significantly higher incidences of CA abnormalities and CA aneurysms in the younger patients.

Keywords :Mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, Coronary aneurysm, Epidemiology, Infant