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Long-term outcomes from acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: A Data-Linkage and Survival Analysis Approach

Adverse outcomes for people with acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease and the effect of comorbidities and demographic factors on these outcomes

Focused cardiac ultrasound screening for rheumatic heart disease by briefly trained health workers: A study of diagnostic accuracy

Echocardiographic screening for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) can identify individuals with subclinical disease who could benefit from antibiotic prophylaxis.

Seven key actions to eradicate rheumatic heart disease in Africa: the Addis Ababa communiqué

Develop a 'roadmap' of key actions that need to be taken by governments to eliminate ARF and eradicate RHD in Africa

Myositis complicating benzathine penicillin-G injection in a case of rheumatic heart disease

A 7-year old boy developed myositis secondary to intramuscular injection of benzathine penicillin-G in the context of secondary prophylaxis for RF

Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is the result of an autoimmune response to pharyngitis caused by infection with group A Streptococcus.

Development of Group A streptococcal vaccines: an unmet global health need

This review provides an update on the current status of Group A Streptococcus vaccine development, & describes global efforts to accelerate the development...

Population pharmacokinetics of penicillin G: insights into increased clearance at low concentrations to guide development of improved long-acting formulations for syphilis

Although benzylpenicillin (penicillin G) is listed by the World Health Organization as an Essential Medicine, dose optimization is a persistent challenge, especially for long-acting intramuscular formulations. Maintaining sustained antibiotic exposure at target concentrations is crucial for secondary chemoprophylaxis of rheumatic heart disease and treatment of syphilis. 

Severe adverse reactions to benzathine penicillin G in rheumatic heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Fear of severe adverse reaction (SAR) and reluctance of health care providers to administer intramuscular injections are major contributing factors to poor adherence of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) in the management of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). However, data on the risk of SARs following BPG injections for RHD are relatively limited and inconclusive. Our systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the incidence of SARs associated with BPG injections used for secondary prophylaxis of RHD. 

Missed Opportunities for Diagnosing Acute Rheumatic Fever

We have read with interest the new publication by Rouhiainen and colleagues on missed opportunities for preventing or diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).

Longitudinal surveillance of group A streptococcal pharyngitis and impetigo in remote Western Australian school children informs acute rheumatic fever prevention

The prevalence of impetigo and pharyngitis - which are both superficial group A streptococcus (GAS) infections that precede acute rheumatic fever - is poorly defined. Guidelines recommend the early diagnosis of both infections to prevent ARF; however, screening to enable the concurrent detection of these infections in high-risk populations has rarely been performed.