| Abstract | OBJECTIVE: To describe Sydenham chorea among children in a cohort of patients with rheumatic fever (RF). STUDY DESIGN: An existing database was used to identify demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, and therapy in persons with RF identified in Salt Lake City, Utah, from 1985 through January 2002. RESULTS: Of 584 cases in the database, 537 (91%) were new-onset RF (median age of 10 years) and 177 (33%) had chorea. Patients with chorea were more often female (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.25-0.55, P < .0001) and were less likely to have carditis or arthritis. Prednisone treatment may lead to a shortened course of chorea (4.0 weeks in prednisone-treated [n = 32] vs 9.0 weeks in untreated [n = 14]; P < .0001). Among 33 patients seen at a median of 10.3 years (range 6.3-14.9 years) after their initial bout of chorea, 20% reported residual tremor or mood swings. Ten of the 33 (30%) had one or more recurrences of chorea. CONCLUSIONS: Chorea affected one-third of the children with RF. Patients with chorea were less likely to have severe cardiac or rheumatologic complications of RF. Therapy with prednisone shortened the duration of rheumatic chorea; some reported recurrences of chorea and had minor neurologic sequelae. |
| Authors | Adrianne R Walker, Lloyd Y Tani, Joel A Thompson, Sean D Firth, L George Veasy, James F Bale Jr
(Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.)
|
| Journal | The Journal of pediatrics
(J Pediatr)
Vol. 151
Issue 6
Pg. 679-83
(Dec 2007)
ISSN: 1097-6833 United States |
| PMID | 18035153
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
|
| Chemical References |
- Glucocorticoids
- Prednisone
|
| Topics |
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Child
- Child, Preschool
- Chorea
(drug therapy, etiology)
- Female
- Glucocorticoids
(therapeutic use)
- Humans
- Male
- Prednisone
(therapeutic use)
- Rheumatic Fever
(complications)
- Risk Factors
|
