Rheumatic Fever

Fever is a frequent and important symptom in patients with rheumatological diseases and can be an expression of activity of the underlying rheumatological disease. There is great variability in the incidence of fever as a symptom of the disease between individual diseases. The growing understanding of the molecular signatures of the diseases can help to explain these discrepancies: A genetic overactivation of potently pyrogenic cytokines is the reason why fever is nearly always present in autoinflammatory syndromes...

Background Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a significant public health problem that causes morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries. Therefore, this study aims to assess mothers' knowledge of acute rheumatic fever and their attitudes in the Jazan region. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between the mothers using an online survey. The knowledge level was ranked as poor, fair, and good. In contrast, the attitudes were ranked as positive or negative. Association with sociodemographic variables was assessed, and statistical significance was set at  p  < 0...

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria has increased globally, with extensive drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria posing a threat to patients. CASE SUMMARY: This case report describes a young man admitted for suspected tropical fever infections who experienced rapid deterioration in health. Despite negative results for tropical fever infections, he had neutrophilic leucocytosis, acute kidney injury, and chest imaging findings suggestive of bilateral consolidations...

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare clinical spectrum and outcome between adults and children with Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) in a European population. METHODS: We made a nationwide retrospective observational study between 1988 and 2019. All adult patients met the ACR diagnostic criteria for TAK and all children met the EULAR/PRINTO/PRES criteria for paediatric TAK. RESULTS: We identified 46 children and 389 adults with TAK. The male to female ratio was 34/46 (0...

Acute rheumatic fever and Takayasu arteritis are examples of autoimmune diseases that commonly affect the cardiovascular system. We report an infrequent co-occurrence of both these diseases in an adolescent male. It may appear that in some individuals, the rheumatic fever may act as a trigger for the development of large vessel vasculitis. This possibility should be considered in patients on follow-up if they develop fresh features of cardiovascular compromise despite appropriate medical, interventional, or surgical therapy for rheumatic heart disease...

BACKGROUND: The aetiology of secondary complete atrioventricular blocks includes ischaemia, cardiac sarcoidosis, electrolyte imbalance, drug use, rheumatic fever, and infections such as Lyme disease and endocarditis. Diagnosis is important since some of these causes are reversible. Although several studies have reported on aortic valve calcification causing complete atrioventricular blocks, no study has described improvement of complete atrioventricular blocks by removal of the calcification...

BACKGROUND: Kawasaki disease has been described across the globe, although publications from Africa are limited. To our knowledge, there are no publications on Kawasaki disease from Kenya, which triggered this report. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was undertaken to identify in-patients with a discharge diagnosis of Kawasaki disease, over 2 different 5-year periods, at two pediatric hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya. We reviewed the medical records of all patients and report their clinical findings, diagnostic workup and treatment...

BACKGROUND: Our study aimed to provide real-world evidence on the treatment patterns, effectiveness and safety of canakinumab in France in Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF), Mevalonate Kinase Deficiency (MKD), and Tumor necrosis factor Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS). METHODS: This study used the JIR cohort, a multicentre international registry created in 2013 to collect data on patients with juvenile inflammatory rheumatic diseases. French patients diagnosed with FMF, MKD or TRAPS and treated with canakinumab were included in this study...

IMPORTANCE: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and immune-mediated injury to multiple organ systems, including the mucocutaneous, musculoskeletal, hematologic, and kidney systems. Approximately 3.4 million people worldwide have received a diagnosis of SLE. OBSERVATIONS: Approximately 90% of people with SLE are female. Although there are no uniformly accepted diagnostic criteria for SLE, the 2019 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (formerly the European League Against Rheumatism)/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria developed for scientific study are an estimated 96...

We report an initial episode of post-streptococcal reactive arthritis (PRSA) in a 61-year-old male with group A streptococcal (GAS) bacteremia. The disease is commonly reported in young children and young adults. Additionally, this patient exemplifies the nonlinear boundaries of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and PRSA, bringing into question whether they are truly distinct disease entities. These two conditions oftentimes present in similar fashions, making it difficult for clinicians to determine a specific diagnosis...

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Sydenham's chorea (SC), a major neurological manifestation of acute rheumatic fever (ARF), is commonly seen in young children and adolescents. It is characterized by rapid, unpredictable, involuntary, and nonpatterned contractions affecting mostly distal limbs. It can also be associated with clinical or subclinical carditis. SC has been reported as a major manifestation in only 3.87% cases of acute rheumatic fever in Nepal. CASE PRESENTATION: The authors report a case of a 12-year-old boy with abnormal movement of his right hand and unsteady gait for 12 days...

BACKGROUND: Penicillin is essential for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). However, the incidences of ARF recurrence and RHD progression remain high, particularly in endemic countries. This meta-analysis evaluated the effectiveness of penicillin adherence in secondary prevention of ARF recurrence and RHD progression. METHODS: The authors included original articles employing an observational study design in which the study population included patients with ARF or RHD and documented adherence to secondary prophylaxis with penicillin for secondary prevention...

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by multisystem inflammation and is a common cause of pericarditis and pericardial effusion, but significant pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade are rare and even rarer as the first manifestation. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of a young male who presented with fever, recurrent pericarditis, and polyserositis with pericardial and bilateral pleural effusion. On examination, he was haemodynamically unstable and the pericardial effusion had considerable dimensions and an urgent pericardiocentesis was performed...

BACKGROUND: The pandemic situation of the novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) and its associated disease (coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)) represents a challenging condition with a plethora of aspects. The course of COVID-19 in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and rheumatic diseases (RD) is not well known. Our study is one step toward closing this gap by collecting data on vaccination rates, infection-free survival, and individual symptom severity...

Aortic regurgitation (AR), a left-sided valvular heart disease, poses challenges in both diagnosis and treatment. From rheumatic fever to trauma, the vast etiologies of AR can manifest with varying symptoms and disease progression. Nonetheless, without interventions, patients with acute and chronic symptomatic AR have a poor prognosis. This article synthesizes current knowledge on AR management, emphasizing advancements in transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). While surgical aortic valve replacement remains the gold standard, TAVI has emerged as a promising alternative, particularly for inoperable patients...

INTRODUCTION: The problem of post-COVID symptoms is still being analysed. Many of them may be related to other conditions, but the new appearance and greater intensity of some of them, e.g. fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and neuropathic pain, seem to be related to a previous viral infection. Efforts are being made to determine in more detail the most characteristic symptoms of post-COVID syndrome. The conditions of rehabilitation after COVID-19 provide an opportunity for such observations...

Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a severe systemic hyperinflammatory syndrome characterised by dysregulation of immune cells and excessive production of cytokines, also known as a cytokine storm. It has distinctive clinical features with fever, hyperferritinaemia and falling blood counts. In adults, this usually occurs secondary to an underlying driver or trigger including infection, malignancy or rheumatic diseases. Prompt treatment with immunomodulatory therapy, including corticosteroids and the recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist anakinra, is recommended to switch off the cytokine storm...

OBJECTIVE: The vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic (VEXAS) syndrome is a complex immune disorder consequence of somatic UBA1 variants. Most reported pathogenic UBA1 variants are missense or splice site mutations directly impairing the translational start site at p. Met41, with recent studies showing that these variants are frequent causes of recurrent inflammation in older individuals. Here we aimed to characterize a novel UBA1 variant found in two patients clinically presenting with VEXAS syndrome...

BACKGROUND: New Zealand is one of the last high-income countries in the world experiencing significant rates of rheumatic fever. Nurses play a crucial role in rheumatic fever prevention; however, little is understood as to how nurses can best achieve this. AIM: To explore nursing practices that optimise rheumatic fever prevention. DESIGN: An integrative review. METHODS: Four electronic databases (CINAHL, SCOPUS, Medline via, and Ovid) were searched for peer-reviewed empirical articles published from 2013 to 2023...

Group A Streptococcus (GAS), or Streptococcus pyogenes , is a gram-positive bacterium that extensively colonises within the human host. GAS is responsible for causing a range of human infections, such as pharyngitis, impetigo, scarlet fever, septicemia, and necrotising fasciitis. GAS pathogens have the potential to elicit fatal autoimmune sequelae diseases (including rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart diseases) due to recurrent GAS infections, leading to high morbidity and mortality of young children and the elderly worldwide...