Kawasaki syndrome in Hawaii.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the incidence and epidemiology of Kawasaki syndrome (KS) in Hawaii.


METHODS
Retrospective analysis of the State Inpatient Database for Hawaii residents hospitalized with KS during 1996 through 2001.


RESULTS
During 1996 through 2001, 267 persons younger than 18 years of age living in Hawaii were hospitalized with KS; 226 (84.6%) were younger than 5 years of age. The average annual incidence for KS was 45.2 per 100,000 children younger than 5 years of age. The incidence was higher for children younger than 1 year of age than for those 1-4 years of age (74.3 and 37.5 per 100,000). The KS incidence for Asian and Pacific Islander children and for White children was 70.9 and 35.3 per 100,000, respectively. Incidence was highest among Japanese American children living in Hawaii (197.7 per 100,000). Honolulu County had the most KS patients (85.0%) and the highest incidence (53.1 per 100,000) among Hawaii counties. For children younger than 5 years of age hospitalized with KS, the median length of stay was 2 days, and the median hospital charge was $9379.


CONCLUSIONS
During 1996 through 2001, the annual incidence rate for KS among children younger than 5 years of age in Hawaii was the highest in the United States. The incidence among Japanese American children in Hawaii was higher than that among other racial groups in the state and when compared with children living in Japan.
Holman
Robert C
RC
Office of the Director, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Curns
Aaron T
AT
Belay
Ermias D
ED
Steiner
Claudia A
CA
Effler
Paul V
PV
Yorita
Krista L
KL
Miyamura
Jill
J
Forbes
Susan
S
Schonberger
Lawrence B
LB
Melish
Marian
M
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric