Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study

AIM OF THE STUDY: Kawasaki disease is a febrile illness which can lead to significant coronary artery lesions. Its incidence varies among countries and is highest in Japan (330.2 children under 5 years old/100,000 per year). Since the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in Switzerland is unknown, we...

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Main Authors: Eugénie  Gradoux , Stefano Di Bernardo, Sabrina Bressieux-Degueldre, Yvan Mivelaz, Tatiana Boulos Ksontini, Milan Prsa, Nicole Sekarski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW) 2022-05-01
Series:Swiss Medical Weekly
Online Access:https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3198
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author Eugénie  Gradoux 
Stefano Di Bernardo
Sabrina Bressieux-Degueldre
Yvan Mivelaz
Tatiana Boulos Ksontini
Milan Prsa
Nicole Sekarski
author_facet Eugénie  Gradoux 
Stefano Di Bernardo
Sabrina Bressieux-Degueldre
Yvan Mivelaz
Tatiana Boulos Ksontini
Milan Prsa
Nicole Sekarski
author_sort Eugénie  Gradoux 
collection DOAJ
description AIM OF THE STUDY: Kawasaki disease is a febrile illness which can lead to significant coronary artery lesions. Its incidence varies among countries and is highest in Japan (330.2 children under 5 years old/100,000 per year). Since the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in Switzerland is unknown, we conducted a national prospective data collection between 2013 and 2017 to describe its incidence, diagnosis, and treatment. METHODS: We collected demographic and clinical data of the children under 17 years old hospitalised with Kawasaki disease in Switzerland between March 2013 and February 2017 using anonymous data collection forms with the help of the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU). We defined Kawasaki disease per the 2004 American Heart Association criteria: patients with ≥5 days of fever and ≥4 of the 5 main clinical features were included as complete Kawasaki disease and patients with ≥5 days of fever and <4 of the 5 main clinical features were included as incomplete Kawasaki disease. The incidence was calculated with the data of the Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland, considering permanent residents of the country. The different groups were compared by the unpaired student t-test for continuous variables and Pearson’s chi squared test for categorical variables, respectively. RESULTS: We included 175 patients: 60% were boys, with a mean age of 38.2 months. The incidence of Kawasaki disease was 3.1/100,000 [95% CI 2.6–3.7] per year in children under 17 years of age and 8.4/100,000 [95% CI 6.7–10.2] per year in children under 5 years of age. The most frequent clinical signs were a rash (85.4%) and changes of the lips and oral/pharyngeal mucosa (83.4%). The diagnosis of Kawasaki disease was made at a mean of 7.3 days after the first symptom. Echocardiography was abnormal in 52.3%. The treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and acetylsalicylic acid was administered in accordance with international guidelines. Subgroup analysis showed that children older than 5 years old had significantly more complete Kawasaki disease than the younger ones (78.8% vs 57.4%, p  = 0.021). Children with “extreme ages” (<1 year old and >8 years old) were diagnosed later (8.6 (±0.9) vs 7.0 (±0.3) days, p  = 0.0129), had longer duration of fever (9.8 (±0.9) vs 8.1 (±0.3) days, p = 0.013) and had more echocardiographic abnormalities (n = 26 (70.3%) vs n = 65 (47.5%), p  = 0.014) at diagnosis. One child died during the acute phase of the illness.  CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of Kawasaki disease in Switzerland is in the lower range of other European countries.
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spelling doaj.art-6b6e38d793f1469a96c5de36ac6b9e1d2022-12-22T04:42:20ZengSMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)Swiss Medical Weekly1424-39972022-05-01152212210.4414/SMW.2022.w30171Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort studyEugénie  Gradoux Stefano Di BernardoSabrina Bressieux-DegueldreYvan MivelazTatiana Boulos KsontiniMilan PrsaNicole Sekarski AIM OF THE STUDY: Kawasaki disease is a febrile illness which can lead to significant coronary artery lesions. Its incidence varies among countries and is highest in Japan (330.2 children under 5 years old/100,000 per year). Since the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in Switzerland is unknown, we conducted a national prospective data collection between 2013 and 2017 to describe its incidence, diagnosis, and treatment. METHODS: We collected demographic and clinical data of the children under 17 years old hospitalised with Kawasaki disease in Switzerland between March 2013 and February 2017 using anonymous data collection forms with the help of the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU). We defined Kawasaki disease per the 2004 American Heart Association criteria: patients with ≥5 days of fever and ≥4 of the 5 main clinical features were included as complete Kawasaki disease and patients with ≥5 days of fever and <4 of the 5 main clinical features were included as incomplete Kawasaki disease. The incidence was calculated with the data of the Federal Statistical Office of Switzerland, considering permanent residents of the country. The different groups were compared by the unpaired student t-test for continuous variables and Pearson’s chi squared test for categorical variables, respectively. RESULTS: We included 175 patients: 60% were boys, with a mean age of 38.2 months. The incidence of Kawasaki disease was 3.1/100,000 [95% CI 2.6–3.7] per year in children under 17 years of age and 8.4/100,000 [95% CI 6.7–10.2] per year in children under 5 years of age. The most frequent clinical signs were a rash (85.4%) and changes of the lips and oral/pharyngeal mucosa (83.4%). The diagnosis of Kawasaki disease was made at a mean of 7.3 days after the first symptom. Echocardiography was abnormal in 52.3%. The treatment with intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and acetylsalicylic acid was administered in accordance with international guidelines. Subgroup analysis showed that children older than 5 years old had significantly more complete Kawasaki disease than the younger ones (78.8% vs 57.4%, p  = 0.021). Children with “extreme ages” (<1 year old and >8 years old) were diagnosed later (8.6 (±0.9) vs 7.0 (±0.3) days, p  = 0.0129), had longer duration of fever (9.8 (±0.9) vs 8.1 (±0.3) days, p = 0.013) and had more echocardiographic abnormalities (n = 26 (70.3%) vs n = 65 (47.5%), p  = 0.014) at diagnosis. One child died during the acute phase of the illness.  CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of Kawasaki disease in Switzerland is in the lower range of other European countries. https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3198
spellingShingle Eugénie  Gradoux 
Stefano Di Bernardo
Sabrina Bressieux-Degueldre
Yvan Mivelaz
Tatiana Boulos Ksontini
Milan Prsa
Nicole Sekarski
Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
Swiss Medical Weekly
title Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
title_full Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
title_fullStr Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
title_short Epidemiology of Kawasaki Disease in children in Switzerland: a national prospective cohort study
title_sort epidemiology of kawasaki disease in children in switzerland a national prospective cohort study
url https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/3198
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