Sensorineural hearing loss and Kawasaki disease: A prospective study

Purpose: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute, self-limited vasculitis of infa nts and children that is now the most common cause of acquired heart diseas e in the pediatric age group in the United States and Japan. Reports have d ocumented the association of acute KD with sensorineural hearing loss. To a ssess the prevalence of hearing loss following acute KD in a geographically and ethnically diverse population, a prospective, multicenter study of hea ring loss in patients with KD was conducted. Materials and Methods: Patients with acute KD were enrolled in 7 clinical c enters and underwent a primary audiologic evaluation within 30 days of the onset of fever. Patients were subsequently reevaluated after resolution of the acute phase of the disease. A questionnaire assessing risk factors for hearing loss was also administered. Results: A total of 62 patients were evaluated during the 29-month study pe riod. At the first audiologic evaluation, 19 patients (30.6%) had sensorine ural hearing loss, 6 patients (9.7%) had conductive hearing loss, 17 patien ts (27.4%) had normal hearing, and 20 patients (32.3%) had inconclusive stu dies. Overall, 2 of 36 patients (5.5%) had sensorineural hearing loss docum ented on their second audiologic evaluation. No risk factors for hearing lo ss were identified by the questionnaire. Conclusions: Transient sensorineural hearing loss (20 to 35 dB) is a freque nt complication of acute KD and may be related to salicylate toxicity in so me patients. Persistent sensorineural hearing loss is uncommon. Parents and primary care providers should be made aware of the potential for persisten t sensorineural hearing loss following resolution of KD, but routine audiol ogic screening of this patient population does not appear to be warranted.