TENDENCY TOWARD ATOPY IN KAWASAKI-DISEASE

To evaluate the possible trend towards developing allergic disease in children who had suffered from Kawasaki disease (KD), we evaluated dat a related to allergy that were collected by parental questionnaire on 1,165 children who had suffered from KD. Comparisons were made with 5, 825 sex- and age-matched control children. The incidence of household pets and of cigarette smoking in the family were significantly lower i n the children with a history of KD than in those of control children. A family history of allergy was significantly more common in the chil dren with a history of KD (71%) versus the controls (56%) (P < 0.001). The incidence of atopic dermatitis and of allergic rhinitis was signi ficantly higher (by approximately 1.7 times) in the KD children versus the control group (P < 0.01), even in subgroups with no family histor y of allergy. Conclusion We suggest that a genetic predisposition to a topy may be associated with a susceptibility to KD, Patients with KD t ended to develop atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis.