ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and describe the epidemiological characteristics of Kawasaki disease among children in Korea. METHODS: Questionnaires for surveying the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease were distributed to a total of 101 hospitals that conduct pediatric residency programs. Then, we retrospectively obtained the data, which covered a three-year period (2006-2008) and analyzed them. RESULTS: During the three-year study period, a total of 9039 cases of Kawasaki disease were reported from 84 hospitals (response rate, 83.2%), comprising 5375 boys and 3664 girls (male:female ratio, 1.47:1). The outbreak rate per 100,000 children <5 years old was 108.7 in 2006, 118.3 in 2007 and 112.5 in 2008 (average rate, 113.1). The seasonal distribution showed a slightly higher incidence rate in winter and summer. The patients' mean age of onset was 32.6 months, while the proportions of sibling cases and recurrent cases were 0.17% and 2.2%, respectively. Coronary arterial abnormalities were detected during follow up by echocardiogram in 17.5% of all cases including dilatations (16.4%) and aneurysms (2.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The average annual incidence rate of Kawasaki disease in Korea has been continuously increasing, and reached 113.1/100,000 children <5 years old, which is the second highest rate in the world.
Subject(s)
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/epidemiology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Coronary Angiography , Echocardiography , Female , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Male , Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/diagnosis , Republic of Korea/epidemiology , Retrospective Studies , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and epidemiologic patterns of Kawasaki disease in Korea for the 3-year-period, 2003-2005. METHODS: The questionnaire for an epidemiologic survey on Kawasaki disease was distributed to all 102 Korean hospitals that conduct pediatric residency programs, and obtained data were analyzed upon receipt. RESULTS: The 9662 patients of Kawasaki disease from 85 hospitals that responded (response rate, 83.3%) consisted of 5877 males and 3785 females (male:female ratio, 1.55:1). The incidence rate per 100,000 children <5-year-old was 104.2 in 2003, 106.4 in 2004, and 104.6 in 2005 (average rate, 105.0). Their mean age of onset was 33.3 months, and the proportions of sibling cases and recurrent cases were 0.29% and 2.0%, respectively. Coronary arterial abnormalities were detected at follow-up by echocardiogram in 18.8% of all such cases including dilatations of 18.0% and aneurysms of 2.5%. CONCLUSION: The average annual rate of incidence, 105.0/100,000 in children <5-year-old is the second highest reported rate in the world.
Subject(s)
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/epidemiology , Child, Preschool , Echocardiography , Female , Geography , Hospitals , Humans , Incidence , Infant , Korea/epidemiology , Male , Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/diagnostic imaging , Seasons , Sex Distribution , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to evaluate the role of peritoneal exudate cells in the transfer of immunity against the liver fluke, Clonorchis sinensis in the inbred BALB/c mice. Ten donor mice were divided into 2 groups. One group consisted of 5 mice was infected orally with 20 metacercariae of C. sinensis, and the other group was injected intraperitoneally with 20 excysted larvae. Thirty days after immunization, the peritoneal exudate cells were obtained from the donor mice. Twenty recipient mice were divided into 4 equal groups for the purpose of primary immunization. The mice of Group I were injected intraperitoneally with 2 x 10(6) peritoneal exudate cells of the donor mice infected orally, those of Group III were injected intraperitoneally with 2 x 10(6) peritoneal exudate cells of the donor mice injected intraperitoneally. Those of Group II were injected orally with 20 metacercariae of C. sinensis. The group IV mice served as controls. Four days after the primary immunization all recipient mice were challenged orally with 20 metacercariae of C. sinensis, and then killed 30 days after the challenging infection. When the peritoneal exudate cells were injected into the recipient mice, pronounced reduction in eggs per gram of the feces was found in the mice of Group I and Group II, but no reduction in those of Group III. In the worm burdens of C. sinensis, the number of flukes found in the mice of Group II was only significantly less than those in the control group(IV). In addition the number of plaque forming cells per spleen in the mice of Group II was found larger than those in Group I. It is likely that donor peritoneal exudate cells transferred to the recipients might result in the production of relative immunity.
