Incidence of Wegener's granulomatosis in children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence and longitudinal trends of Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) in the pediatric population of Southern Alberta over the last 15 years. RESULTS: Fifteen cases of childhood WG were confirmed. The average annual incidence was 2.75 cases/million/year, with a steep increase over the last 5 years to 6.39 cases/million/year. CONCLUSION: In Southern Alberta the incidence of childhood WG during the past 15 years was comparable to the incidence reported in adults and it seems to be increasing. Further studies are required to determine if this is a regional or global phenomenon.