HEMOLYTIC-UREMIC SYNDROME IN WESTERN-AUSTRALIA, 1980 TO 1994

A retrospective, population-based study of patients hospitalised with the haemolytic-uraemic syndrome in Western Australia from 1980 to 1994 was undertaken to describe the epidemiology of the disease in this st ate. We identified 41 patients. Episodes were commonest in children un der five years of age (63.4 per cent) and were more frequent in female s (58.5 per cent) than in males; only one Aboriginal patient was detec ted. More than 90 per cent of episodes had a gastrointestinal prodrome lasting from one to 22 days; in 47.6 per cent of these episodes patie nts had bloody diarrhoea. The average hospital stay was 26 days, and 6 3.4 per cent of patients required dialysis (mean 10 days). More than 2 0 per cent of patients developed chronic renal failure, 9.7 per cent d ied, two patients developed hypertension and one child became epilepti c; three of the 10 patients over 16 years of age (30 per cent) died. T he haemolytic-uraemic syndrome is potentially fatal, affects mostly yo ung children, and is usually preceded by a gastrointestinal illness. E pisodes can occur in common-source outbreaks but, with the exceptions of related cases in families, that appears not to have been so in West ern Australia since 1980. There is a need for increased awareness of t he haemolytic-uraemic syndrome to enhance prospects for earlier detect ion and better clinical outcomes. Improved public health surveillance is also needed to reduce the risks of the syndrome in the community.