J Korean Med Sci.  2002 Aug;17(4):453-456. 10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.453.

Epidemiologic Study of Kawasaki Disease in Korea, 1997-1999: Comparison with Previous Studies During 1991-1996

• Park YW
• Park IS
• Kim CH
• Ma JS
• Lee SB
• Kim CH
• Yun YS
• Lee HJ
• Lee SK
• Tockgo YC

• KMID: 1109750
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2002.17.4.453

Abstract

We performed a retrospective epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease (KD) from 1997 to 1999 in Korea. We sent a questionnaire to 111 training hospitals, and summarized the data from 50 hospitals that responded. Data from a total of 3,862 cases were collected, which showed no difference in annual incidence and a seasonal predilection for summer. The male-to-female ratio was 1.51:1, and the mean age was 29.7 months. The prevalence of sibling cases was 0.26%, and the rate of recurrent cases was 2.3%. The proportion of patients with KD among total hospitalized pediatric patients was 1.19% in average, showing a significant difference according to the regions. Coronary arterial (CA) abnormalities were detected by echocardiography in 19.8% of cases (737/3,723) including dilatations in 601 cases (16.1%) and aneurysms in 191 cases (5.1%). Data from total 8,251 cases in the 1990s including the cases in the present study, in Korea showed a mean age of patients 28.9 months, male-to-female ratio 1.6:1, seasonal predilection for summer, prevalence of sibling cases 0.24%, rate of recurrent cases 2.3%, incidence of CA abnormalities 21.0%, and incidence of CA aneurysms 5.2%, with statistically significant decreasing trends in the male-to-female ratio and the rate of CA abnormalities.

Keyword

Coronary Aneurysm; Epidemiology; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome; Prevalence

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Age Distribution
Child
Child, Preschool
Coronary Vessels/pathology
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Korea/epidemiology
Male
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/*epidemiology
Questionnaires
Retrospective Studies
Seasons
Sex Distribution