Kawasaki Disease Hospitalizations in the United States 2016–2020: A Comparison of Before and During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of young children. A comparison of US hospitalization rates and epidemiologic features of KD in 2020 to those of precoronavirus disease years has yet to be reported. Methods: Using a large, inpatient database, we conducted a retrospective cohort study and analyzed data for patients with (1) diagnosis coding for KD, (2) IV immunoglobulin treatment administered during hospitalization and (3) discharge date between January 1, 2016, and December 30, 2020. Severe cases were defined as those requiring adjunctive therapy or IV immunoglobulin–resistant therapy. Results: The annual number of KD hospitalizations were stable from 2016 to 2019 (n = 1652, 1796, 1748, 1692, respectively) but decreased in 2020 (n = 1383). KD hospitalizations demonstrated seasonal variation with an annual peak between December and April. A second peak of KD admissions was observed in May 2020. The proportion of KD cases classified as severe increased to 40% in 2020 from 33% during the years 2016–2019 (P
Source: The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal - Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Original Studies Source Type: research