Kawasaki disease drop during pandemic leaves hints at possible triggersRates of Kawasaki disease, a rare acquired cardiac condition in kids, fell nationally during peak COVID-19 transmission when control measures were in place, potentially providing a clue that multiple triggers and upper airway inhalation might be involved.Researchers based at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) published the findings of their disease tracking study late last week in JAMA Network Open.When the pandemic began, the team was already tracking national Kawasaki disease cases from 2018 to 2020 using a multicenter cohort approach.
They were also conducting a detailed analysis of patients who were diagnosed at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego from Jan 1, 2002, to Nov 15, 2021.The disease is puzzling, and triggers haven't yet been identified.
Jane Burns, MD, senior study author who directs the Kawasakai Disease Research Center at UCSD, said the pandemic provided an incredible natural experiment that the group took advantage of.When they compared rates before and during the pandemic, they found that cases dropped by 28% during the peak pandemic period, then rebounded in the spring of 2021 when mask mandates were lifted and in-person school resumed.
The findings hint at a role for social contact in exposure and an inhaled respiratory triggerFirst author Jennifer Burney, PhD, part of the study team who is with the environmental science department at UCSD, said though numbers dropped dramatically during the shelter-in-place period, they didn't disappear entirely, as did other respiratory diseases.