Kawasaki syndrome among American Indian and Alaska Native children, 1980 through 1995

Background. Kawasaki syndrome (KS) is a leading cause of acquired heart dis ease among US children, but the epidemiologic features of RS among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children have not been described. Methods. We examined Indian Health Service computerized records of hospital discharges for AI/AN children <18 years of age with KS during 1980 through 1995. Results. During 1980 through 1995, 85 AI/AN children were reported with a h ospitalization for KS; 10 of the children had an additional KS hospitalizat ion record within 5 months. The average annual KS hospitalization rate for children <5 years of age, based on first KS hospitalization only, was 4.3 c ases per 100 000 children; the rate for children age <1 year (n = 21) was 8 .6 per 100 000 and for children ages 1 to 4 years was 3.6 per 100 000. The annual rates for children < 5 years of age ranged from 0 to 8.5 per 100 000 children. KS hospitalizations for children peaked in January and February; 50.6% of the children were hospitalized during January through April. The overall median length of hospital stay was 4 days (range, 1 to 29 days); th e median duration decreased from 8 days from 1980 through 1982 to 4 days fr om 1993 through 1995. Conclusions. The overall annual hospitalization rate of KS among AI/AN chil dren <5 years of age was slightly lower than rates for several majority whi te populations in the United States. (4.6 to 15.2 cases per 100 000) and mu ch lower than rates for blacks and Asians/Pacific Islanders.