title: Acute rheumatic fever in Jordanian children.
abstract: Rheumatic fever remains a significant health problem in Jordan. We retrospectively reviewed medical charts of 28 boys and 22 girls (mean age at presentation 10.5 +/- 2.6 years) with confirmed diagnosis based on modified Jones criteria at Queen Alia Heart Institute from February 1999 to February 2002. Arthritis was the commonest major manifestation (88%; 68% migratory), carditis was second commonest (48%; 8% silent carditis) and chorea was seen in 6%. None had subcutaneous nodules or erythema marginatum. The mitral valve was most commonly affected (80%); both mitral and aortic valves were affected in 25%. Pericarditis was seen in 12.5% and acute congestive heart failure in 4%. Practitioners should be aware of diverse clinical presentations and emphasize strict adherence to prophylaxis guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Queen Alia Heart Institute, Paediatric Cardiology Division, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Khriesat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Najada
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al-Hakim
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Haweleh
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002819:Chorea / Q000209:etiology; D003906:Developing Countries; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D004890:Erythema / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010493:Pericarditis / Q000209:etiology; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011634:Public Health; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012213:Rheumatic Fever / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents