Objectives. To evaluate the usefulness of hospital discharge data for surveillance for Kawasaki syndrome (KS), and describe the incidence of KS in Georgia. Design. Georgia KS hospital discharge data were analyzed for 1997 and 1998. Available Georgia KS hospital medical records were reviewed to classify patients by using the CDC case definition for KS, and to describe the KS incidence in Georgia. Results. During 1997 through 1998, 233 KS hospital discharges were recorded in Georgia; 177 were among children < 5 years of age, for a KS hospitalization rate of 15.7 per 100,000. However, 21 (9%) of the 233 hospital discharges represented multiple hospitalizations. For those 189 patients whose medical records were reviewed and had sufficient information to classify, 139 (74%) met the CDC criteria for KS (135) or atypical KS (4). Eight of the 50 patients not meeting KS criteria had only a remote history of KS. For 31 (74%) of the remaining 42 patients, only one criterion was missing (24) or its presence or absence was unknown (7). Fifteen (12%) of the 122 patients meeting full criteria for KS and with echocardiograms available to review had evidence of coronary artery abnormalities (CAA). The incidence for children < 5 years of age meeting the case definition for KS or atypical KS (n=110) was 9.8 per 100,000 children. Conclusions. Hospital discharge data are useful for KS surveillance. However, multiple hospitalizations for KS, and past history of KS may lead to an overestimation of the true KS incidence solely on the basis of hospital discharge data. The incidence and epidemiology of KS in Georgia are consistent with findings from other studies.
展开▼
