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Globally, ARF and RHD cause more than a quarter of a million deaths and substantial disability each year.
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.
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.
Rheumatic heart disease, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries, results from acute rheumatic fever (ARF), for which no diagnostic test currently exists. The ARF Diagnosis Collaborative Network (ARC Network) was established to address this gap by recruiting a rigorously phenotyped, globally representative cohort of children and adolescents with ARF and controls to support biomarker discovery.
This article documents the establishment of community laundries in rural/remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities between 2000-2024, with the aim to support synergistic planning, implementation and evaluation.
This study aims to describe the pattern and trends in acute rheumatic fever (ARF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD)-related hospitalisations and costs for Australians aged <65 years.
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are prevalent among First Nations peoples in Australia. In Western Australia (WA), notification of ARF and RHD to the WA RHD register is mandatory and supports follow-up care. However, previous studies from rural WA have reported incomplete notification, suggesting gaps in surveillance and hospital-registry linkage.
Intramuscular (IM) injection of benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG) forms the cornerstone of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis. BPG is available as either a low-cost powdered formulation or a costlier pre-filled suspension. Most of the global RHD burden lies in low- and middle-income countries, which rely on the powdered formulation.
Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis is an important precursor infection to severe complications including rheumatic fever and invasive GAS. Rapid molecular point of care testing (POCT) for GAS infection has advantages over traditional microbiological culture, especially in settings with limited or absent laboratory infrastructure and where GAS complications predominate.
We have read with interest the new publication by Rouhiainen and colleagues on missed opportunities for preventing or diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).