Since the turn of the century, acute rheumatic fever has become increasingly uncommon (Glover, 1930; Hitchens, 1956). Penicillin treatment of upper respiratory tract infections and the increasing use of antibiotic prophylaxis have contributed to this decline in recent years, but improved social and economic conditions and the changing pattern of streptococcal illness are probably more important...

doppler echocardiography (de) is known to be a valuable tool for detecting subclinical forms of valvular regurgitation (vrj in theacutephase of rheumatic fever (rf). previous studies have mostly dealt with the acute phase problem with only short-term follow-up. in this study, 24 children between 4-15 years of age (mean age ii.x±2.7 years) with rf without clinically diagnosed carditis (most with...

the most accepted method of secondary prophylaxis in rheumatic fever (rf) has been an injection of 1,200,000 units of benzathine penicillin g (bpg) every 4 weeks, but recurrences have been reported in some patients despite such a prophylaxis program. the who recommended bpg injections every 3 weeks in high risk patients and situations due to some published data in favor of inadequacy of once ev...

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children and young adults in developing countries. It results from throat infection with group A beta hemolytic streptococcus that proceeds to acute rheumatic fever (ARF). We report a 13 years old girl from Darfur presenting with recurrent acute rheumatic fever for 4 years that led to affection of all her heart ...

A woman admitted for cardiac catheterization was found to have chronic arthritis of both hands. She gave a history ofmany recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever with gradual development of her joint deformity. On further study, these changes were found to consist of marked ulnar deviation of the fingers at the matacarpophalangeal joints and hyperextension of the proximal interphalangeal joints of...

BACKGROUND Benzathine penicillin G every 3 weeks is the standard protocol for secondary prophylaxis for recurrent rheumatic fever. OBJECTIVE Assess the effect of Benzathine penicillin G on Streptococcus sanguinis and Streptococcus oralis in patients with cardiac valvular disease due to rheumatic fever receiving secondary prophylaxis. METHODS Oral streptococci were evaluated before (baseline...

doi:10.2471/BLT.07.046680 For a disease to be suitable for screening as a tool of preventive medicine, it must satisfy the following criteria: (1) the evidence of an obvious burden of the disease, (2) an initial latent stage of the condition, (3) which can be detected by appropriate tests, (4) and treated by adequate therapy, and finally (5) to prove that intervention at an early stage can impr...

Rheumatic fever is still the most commonly seen rheumatic disease in Brazilian pediatric rheumatology clinics. It remains a significant health problem since subsequent cardiac sequelae represent one of the most important causes of chronic heart disease in children. We reviewed the clinical manifestations of rheumatic fever in 786 patients followed at seven pediatric rheumatology clinics in the ...

Patients showed recurrent flares of pericarditis with malaise, precordial pain, tachyorthopnoea, sometimes fever. 2/3 developed a life-threatening cardiac tamponade needing pericardiotomy. None of them presented signs or symptoms consistent with a chronic rheumatic disease: antinuclear, anti-coxsackie and anti adenovirus antibodies were negative. Genetic analysis ruled out Familial Mediterranea...