Abstract 3: Kawasaki Disease in Algerian Children: A Clinical Study

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute multisystem vasculitis of unknown etiology that occurs predominantly in infants and young children. The incidence of KD is increasing worldwide ; however the epidemiological data available for Algerian patients remains insufficient Objective: To describe the demographic, clinical, and laboratory features of Algerian children with KD and to highlight the practical difficulties. Methods: This retrospective study included children admitted with Kawasaki disease at the only pediatric tertiary referral hospital in Algiers over a period of 8 years from January 2006 to December 2013. Results : 108 patients with KD, with a mean age of 31 months (range: 8-84 months)were identified. There were 63 boys and 45 girls (sex ratio: 1.4). The clinical data were similar to previously described studies, with some difference: the cervical lymphadenopathy was less frequent :25%(27/108). 22%( 24/108) of children had evidence of cardiac complications: 20%( 22/108) had coronary artery abnormalities ; one child had mitral regurgitation, one had pericardial effusion. Of the 22 children with coronary abnormalities , 9 had coronary dilatation, 13 had coronary aneurysms (10 small and medium, 3 giant). These abnormalities regressed in 13 cases on follow up. During this period, catheter and surgical coronary intervention were performed to treat coronary ischemia in one patient, two years after onset. The only independent variable for prediction of coronary involvement was fever duration at the time of initial presentation(p=0.016). The therapeutic used in this study included an immunoglobulin treatment for only 63%(69/108) of the children, half of which received it within the first ten days of the onset of the disease. Conclusion: This work demonstrates the necessity of a registry that will allow better appreciation of the incidence of this disease and improve the diagnosis and treatment of KD in Algeria