Objective: To describe the epidemiologic characteristics and estimate the incidence of Kawasaki syndrome (KS) among children in Ireland.
Methods: Hospital discharge records with a KS diagnosis among patients <18 years of age were examined using Ireland's Hospital In-Patient Enquiry database for 1996 through 2000.
Results: During the study period 265 hospitalizations associated with KS among children <18 years of age were recorded in Ireland. Of those, 194 (73%) occurred among children <5 years of age. The median age of patients at admission was 2 years. The average annual KS hospitalization rate for children <5 years of age was 15.2 per 100 000 children, and among that group the hospitalization rate was higher for infants <1 year of age than for children 1 to 4 years of age (19.7 and 16.0 per 100 000 children, respectively). Most KS hospitalizations occurred among children <5 years of age and among boys. The highest monthly number of hospitalizations occurred during the months of November through January. No deaths associated with KS were reported among hospitalized children.
Conclusion: Hospital discharge data provide useful information on the epidemiology of KS in Ireland. The hospitalization rate for KS in Ireland is similar to rates in the United States and may be higher than those in other European countries, although the European studies differ in methodologies and time periods.