title: Sydenham's chorea: risk factors and the role of prophylactic benzathine penicillin G in preventing recurrence.
abstract: To determine the effect of prophylactic long-acting penicillin G in preventing recurrence of Sydenham's chorea and to discover the risk factors associated with occurrence of symptoms, 18 children with symptoms over a 5-year period were prospectively identified. Of these, ten were boys and eight were girls. The majority occurred between the ages of 8 and 10 years [mean (SD) 9.10 (2.62) years]. Sydenham's chorea was generalized in 14 children and one-sided in four. There was no difference in the incidence of right- and left-sided hemichorea. Among the risk factors examined, only a history of chorea in relatives had a significant association with the occurrence of Sydenham's chorea (OR = 6.39; 95% CI 1.30-31.3). A comparison of recurrence between those given prophylactic long-acting penicillin G and those who had none showed a statistically significant difference in the recurrence experience between the two groups (p < 0.02).
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebremariam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002819:Chorea / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010406:Penicillins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D010406:Penicillins; D010401:Penicillin G Benzathine