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A team led by Dr Joseph Kado from the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, and The University of Western Australia (UWA) has been awarded $5 million by the Federal Government in a major push to prevent rheumatic heart disease across the Pacific.
Laqueisha was just five years old when she was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and sent on a 5,000km return trip to Perth for major heart surgery.
Surgical intervention is an important treatment modality for advanced rheumatic heart disease (RHD). This study aimed to describe patient characteristics and outcomes from cardiac surgery for RHD in patients referred to the only tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia.
Rheumatic heart disease is the largest contributor to cardiac-related mortality in children worldwide. Outcomes in endemic settings after its antecedent illness, acute rheumatic fever, are not well understood. We aimed to describe 3-5 year mortality, acute rheumatic fever recurrence, changes in carditis, and correlates of mortality after acute rheumatic fever.
The diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever relies on a combination of clinical evaluation and laboratory studies. Diagnosis is usually made using the Jones criteria, which have recently been updated in 2015.
The reduction in ARF recurrence indicates that the RHD control program has improved secondary prophylaxis; a decline in RHD incidence is expected to follow.
Sensitivity and positive predictive value of cardiac auscultation compared with echocardiography is poor, regardless of the expertise of the auscultator.
Globally, ARF and RHD cause more than a quarter of a million deaths and substantial disability each year.
Building on the foundation of the first RHD forum, over 150 interested participants met to discuss critical issues on the RHD landscape.
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is an abnormal immune reaction following Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) infection of the throat, and likely the skin. Primary prevention is the prompt and appropriate antibiotic treatment of Strep A infection, and it can reduce the risk of developing ARF and subsequent rheumatic heart disease.