Evaluation of the Epidemiological Findings of Acute Rheumatic Fever Between 1981 and 2012

Abstract

In developing countries, acute rheumatic fever is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children and adolescents, while acute rheumatic fever incidence is declined in developed countries due to the improvement decline in the crowd live, improvement hygiene and nutrition and standards of living. After penicillin was introduced for treatment of pharyngitis, the incidence of acute rheumatic fever was decreased and even not observed in certain regions (8).

Screening of Latent Rheumatic Heart Disease and Pharyngeal Group a Streptococci Carriage in Family Members of Children With Rheumatic Heart Disease

“…Acute rheumatic fever is a result of an exaggerated autoimmune response to GABS after untreated or insu ciently treated pharyngeal infection [3]. ARF and its long term sequela, LRHD, has declined in developed countries by improved nutrition, hygien strategies and access to adequate medical care, but remains as an important public health problem and cause of morbidity and mortality as leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in developing countries like Turkey [4,5]. There is scarcity of data about the incidence of ARF especially in developing countries [6].…”

“…The incidence in developing countries is estimated as 200-300/100.000 and in some studies higher rates up to 500/100.000 were reported [4]. Unfortunately there is limited data about nationwide incidence of ARF in Turkey, except some regional reports revealing a range between 16 and 277 per 100,000 cases at different time periods [5].…”

Contemporary outcomes of rheumatic mitral valve surgery in the mid‐Atlantic region

“…Patients with isolated mitral stenosis often benefit from percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty. 2 In the current issue of the Journal, Hawkins et al 3 report the results of a multicenter, retrospective analysis of patients undergoing mitral valve surgery from 2011 to 2019. In this study, the clinical data submitted by 19 member hospitals in the mid-Atlantic region is derived from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) adult cardiac surgery database data forms.…”

“…The challenges in providing tertiary care, including access to mitral valve surgery and balloon mitral valvuloplasty in low‐resource environments, will be examined, with a view to developing pragmatic strategies toward addressing the challenges faced by those with established rheumatic mitral valve disease. Patients with isolated mitral stenosis often benefit from percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty 2 …”