Rheumatic Fever. Studies of the Epidemiology, Manifestations, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Disease During the First Three Decades

This monograph is a comprehensive treatise on a subject of constant interest to pediatricians and internists alike. The author's close personal contact with rheumatic fever and its equivalents, together with a broad knowledge of the concepts of other workers in this field, has given the volume a well-deserved air of authority. This work is a decidedly ambitious one, dividing a subject with widespread aspects into five points of discussion. Part I gives a concise historical summary and considers rheumatic fever from the aspect of etiology and epidemiology. Part II provides a vivid view of the protean manifestations and variable clinical course of childhood rheumatism. An attempt is made to correlate clinical signs and symptoms with postmortem protocols. Part III gives many helpful aids to prognosis in the rheumatic fever of childhood. A large collection of cases is graphically presented in a very helpful manner. Part IV deals with the diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease in children. The classification presented is clear-cut as well as all-inclusive. The final section, Part V, is a valuable treatise on the general management of the child rheumatic victim. This section on treatment and convalescent care is the most valuable part of the book and comes at a time in which it may be most helpful to those whose public health consciousness has reached out to and included the young rheumatic victim.