Yong Won Park

Epidemiological features of Kawasaki disease in Korea, 2006–2008

Background:  The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and describe the epidemiological characteristics of Kawasaki disease among children in Korea.

Kawasaki disease in Korea, 2003-2005.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and epidemiologic patterns of Kawasaki disease in Korea for the 3-year-period, 2003–2005. Methods: The questionnaire for an epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease was distributed to all 102 Korean hospitals that conduct pediatric residency programs, and obtained data were analyzed upon receipt. Results: The 9662 patients of Kawasaki disease from 85 hospitals that responded (response rate, 83.3%) consisted of 5877 males and 3785 females (male:female ratio, 1.55:1). The incidence rate per 100,000 children <5-year-old was 104.2 in 2003, 106.4 in 2004, and 104.6 in 2005 (average rate, 105.0). Their mean age of onset was 33.3 months, and the proportions of sibling cases and recurrent cases were 0.29% and 2.0%, respectively. Coronary arterial abnormalities were detected at follow-up by echocardiogram in 18.8% of all such cases including dilatations of 18.0% and aneurysms of 2.5%. Conclusion: The average annual rate of incidence, 105.0/100,000 in children <5-year-old is the second highest reported rate in the world.

Epidemiologic features of Kawasaki disease in South Korea: data from nationwide survey, 2009-2011.

Background: To assess the recent epidemiologic features of Kawasaki disease (KD) in South Korea from the nationwide survey conducted between 2009 and 2011. Methods: We collected data regarding the incidence, symptoms, treatment and coronary complications associated with acute KD by sending questionnaires to the 100 hospitals that have pediatric residency programs from 2009 to 2011. Results: We received complete responses from 73 hospitals and partial responses from 14 hospitals. A total of 13,031 patients of KD were reported from the 87 hospitals (3941 in 2009, 4635 in 2010 and 4455 in 2011). The male to female ratio was 1.44:1, and the median age at diagnosis was 28 months. From the questionnaires with complete responses, we noted that the incidence of KD per 100,000 children <5 years of age was 115.4 in 2009, 132.9 in 2010 and 134.4 in 2011 (average rate, 127.7). KD occurred more frequently during summer (June, July and August) and during winter (December and January). The recurrence rate was 3.83%. The standard dose of intravenous immunoglobulin was administered to 93.6% of the patients, and nonresponder rate was 11.6%. Coronary aneurysm occurred in 1.9% of the patients and giant aneurysm developed in 26 patients (0.26%) over 3 years, and 2 patients had myocardial infarction. No mortality was reported. Conclusions: The average annual incidence of KD in South Korea has continuously increased to 134.4 per 100,000 children <5 years of age in 2011, which is the second highest incidence of KD worldwide, following its incidence in Japan.

Epidemiologic picture of Kawasaki disease in Korea, 2000–2002

Background : The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and epidemiologic patterns of Kawasaki disease in Korea for a 3 year period during 2000 to 2002.

Epidemiology of Kawasaki disease in infants 3 months of age and younger

Purpose This study investigated the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease (KD) in infants ≤3-month-old. Methods To study the epidemiology of KD in Korea, data for 27,851 KD patients were collected on a 3-year basis between 2000 and 2008 in a retrospective survey. From this, data for 609 KD patients ≤3-month-old were analyzed and compared with the data for KD patients >3-month-old. Results The 609 KD patients ≤3-month-old (385 males and 224 females) constituted 2.2% of the KD patients. They included 25 infants <1-month-old, 198 infants ≤1- to 2-month-old, and 386 infants >2- and 3-months-old. The ratio of males to females was 1.72:1. The incidence of coronary artery (CA) dilatation (19.9% vs. 18.7%) and CA aneurysms (3.4% vs. 2.6%) detected by echocardiography did not differ significantly between patients with KD younger and older than 3-month-old. Conclusion Compared with the data for the KD patients >3-month-old, the data for the 609 patients ≤3-month-old did not show a significantly higher incidence of CA dilatation or CA aneurysms.

Evaluation of the Temporal Association between Kawasaki Disease and Viral Infections in South Korea

Background and Objectives This study is aimed at elucidating potential temporal associations between the occurrence of Kawasaki disease (KD) and various viral infections. Subjects and Methods We obtained monthly patterns of KD from the seventh nationwide survey and viral detection data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2009 to 2011 and evaluated temporal correlations between them for each month. The respiratory viruses detected using a multiplex real-time-polymerase chain reaction kit were influenza virus (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, A/H5N1, and B), adenovirus, parainfluenza virus (type 1, 2, 3), respiratory syncytial virus (type A, B), human rhinovirus, human coronavirus (OC43/229E, NL63), human bocavirus, and enterovirus. Results We obtained data from a total of 13031 patients who were treated for acute KD from 87 hospitals with pediatric residence programs. During this survey, KD showed highest overall incidence in summer and winter seasons and lowest incidence in February and October. We received viral detection data for a total of 14267 patients. Viral detection was highest during winter and spring seasons. The most commonly detected virus was human rhinovirus (32.6%), followed by influenza virus (26.8%). The monthly incidence of KD showed significant correlation with the monthly overall viral detection (p=0.022, r=0.382). In particular, human bocavirus and enterovirus have significant correlations with monthly patterns of KD occurrence (p=0.032 and p=0.007, respectively) and influenza virus correlated with KD occurrence with borderline significance (p=0.063). Conclusion The temporal association between monthly occurrence of KD and viral detection suggests the etiologic importance of precedent infection in the development of KD.