Epidemiology and clinical features of pediatric vasculitis: a single-center study

Abstract

Introduction - Vasculitides are rare systemic conditions which may occur in childhood. Pediatric studies done so far are few and have small sample sizes. This population-based study aims to develop knowledge regarding the clinical presentation of vasculitides in children. Methods - In this retrospective study we gathered data regarding epidemiology and clinical presentation of all children diagnosed with vasculitides in a tertiary Portuguese center. All patients were assessed for demographics and clinical presenting symptoms. Results - In our study, we included 138 patients. Kawasaki's disease (KD) had the youngest average patients with a median age of 2.26 years old. In Behçet's disease (BD) group patients were older (13.41). The gender ratio was only higher in females in BD's patients (1:1.86), as opposed to other vasculitides. Cutaneous involvement was >90% in both IgA Vasculitis (IgAV) and KD. Gastrointestinal symptoms were common in all groups (15-50%); rarer in BD (17%). Arthritis and arthralgia were highly prevalent in IgAV (65%); ophthalmic involvement was frequent in KD (70%). Renal manifestations in IgAV (11%) and ophthalmic involvement in BD (22%) were lower than expected. There was a notable number of children reporting joint involvement in KD (27%). We also noticed a slightly higher prevalence of vascular findings in BD (30%). Conclusions - Clinical symptoms observed in our patients were similar to previous reports in published studies, with some exceptions. The authors suggest that pediatric multicentric population-based studies are needed; such networks will be invaluable to facilitate research and clinical trials.