Long-term hearing and neurodevelopmental outcomes following Kawasaki disease: A population-based cohort study

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) incidence is increasing in Ontario. Cardiovascular sequelae following KD are well-described. However, there are limited data on non-cardiovascular outcomes. Objectives: To determine the risk of hearing loss, anxiety, developmental disorders, intellectual disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among KD survivors vs. non-exposed children. Methods: We included all Ontario children (<= 18 yr) surviving hospitalization with a KD diagnosis between 1995 and 2018, using population-based health administrative databases. We excluded children with prior KD diagnoses and non-residents. KD cases were matched with 100 non-exposed children by age, sex and year. Follow-up continued until death or March 2019. We calculated the prevalence, incidence and adjusted hazard ratios (aHR [95%CI]) of outcomes between 0-1 yr, 1-5 yr, 5-10 yr and >10 yr follow-up. Results: Among 4597 KD survivors, 364 (7.9%) were diagnosed with hearing loss, 1213 (26.4%) anxiety disorders, 398 (8.7%) developmental disorders, 51 (1.1%) intellectual disability and 21 (0.5%) ADHD, during median 11 year follow-up. Compared to 459,700 non-exposed children, KD survivors were not at increased risk of hearing loss after adjustment for potential confounders. KD survivors were at increased risk of anxiety disorders between 0-1 yr (aHR 1.75 [1.46-2.10]), 1-5 yr (aHR 1.13 [1.01-1.28]), 510 yr (aHR 1.14 [1.03-1.28]) and >10 yr (aHR 1.11 [1.02-1.22]); developmental disorders between 0-1 yr (aHR 1.49 [1.28-1.74]) and 1-5 yr (aHR 1.19 [1.02-1.40]); intellectual disabilities >10 yr (aHR 2.36 [1.36-4.10]); and ADHD >10 yr (aHR 2.01 [1.14-3.57]). Conclusions: KD survivors are at increased risk of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders sooner, being diagnosed with developmental disorders between 0 and 5 yr and being diagnosed with intellectual disabilities or ADHD >10 yr after KD diagnosis. This may justify enhanced developmental and audiological surveillance of KD survivors. (C) 2021 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.