title: Kawasaki disease in children and adolescents: clinical data of Kawasaki patients in a western region (Tyrol) of Austria from 2003-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Kawasaki disease (KD) is a rare vasculitis seen predominantly in children. In developing countries, it is the leading cause of childhood-acquired heart disease. Besides a case report from 1981 there have been no data published dealing with the epidemiology and clinical aspects of KD in Austria.
  
  
  METHODS
  The purpose of the present study was to investigate the clinical spectrum of KD in a geographically determined cohort of infants, children, and adolescents that were diagnosed and treated at the University Hospital of Innsbruck from 2003-2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-two patients were included in the study with a median age of 32.96 months (2-192). 59.4% of the patients were aged between six months and four years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.13. Clinical examination revealed non-purulent conjunctivitis and exanthema as the most common symptoms (84.4%). 75% showed oropharyngeal changes, 21.9% had gastrointestinal complaints such as diarrhoe, stomachache or vomiting prior to diagnosis. One third of the patients were admitted with a preliminary diagnosis, whereas 78.1% were pre-treated with antibiotics. The median fever duration at the time of presentation was estimated with 4.96 days (1-14), at time of diagnosis 6.76 days (3-15).75% were diagnosed with complete KD, and 25% with an incomplete form of the disease. There was no significant difference in the duration of fever neither between complete and incomplete KD, nor between the different age groups. Typical laboratory findings included increased C-reactive protein (CRP) (80.6%) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (96%),leukocytosis (48.4%) and thrombocytosis (40.6%) without any significant quantitative difference between complete and incomplete KD. Coronary complications could be observed in six patients: one with a coronary aneurysm and five with tubular dilatation of the coronary arteries. Our patient cohort represents the age distribution as described in literature and emphasizes that KD could affect persons of any age. The frequency of occurrence of the clinical symptoms differs from previous reports - in our study, we predominantly observed non-purulent conjunctivitis and exanthema.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  KD should always be considered as a differential diagnosis in a child with fever of unknown origin, as treatment can significantly decrease the frequency of coronary complications.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics I, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria. Elisabeth.Binder@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Binder
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics II, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Griesmaier
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics I, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giner
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics I, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sailer-Höck
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Pediatrics I, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brunner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D063189:Symptom Assessment / Q000379:methods
keywords: Age distribution; Clinical symptoms; Coronary complications; Fever duration; Kawasaki disease