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Excess Deaths Associated with Rheumatic Heart Disease, Australia, 2013-2017During 2013–2017, the mortality rate ratio for rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous versus non-Indigenous persons in Australia was 15.9, reflecting health inequity. Using excess mortality methods, we found that deaths associated with rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous Australians were probably substantially undercounted, affecting accuracy of calculations based solely on Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
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Missed Opportunities for Diagnosing Acute Rheumatic FeverWe have read with interest the new publication by Rouhiainen and colleagues on missed opportunities for preventing or diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).
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Population pharmacokinetics of penicillin G: insights into increased clearance at low concentrations to guide development of improved long-acting formulations for syphilisAlthough 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.
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Severe adverse reactions to benzathine penicillin G in rheumatic heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysisFear 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.
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2023 World Heart Federation guidelines for the echocardiographic diagnosis of rheumatic heart diseaseRheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an important and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among children and young adults in low-income and middle-income countries, as well as among certain at-risk populations living in high-income countries. The 2012 World Heart Federation echocardiographic criteria provided a standardized approach for the identification of RHD and facilitated an improvement in early case detection.
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A Review of Cardiac Surgical Procedures and Their Outcomes for Paediatric Rheumatic Heart Disease in Western AustraliaSurgical 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.
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Specificity of the Modified Jones CriteriaJonathan Carapetis AM AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS Executive Director; Co-Head, Strep A Translation; Co-Founder of REACH 08 6319 1000 contact@
Latest news & events at the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases.
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Environmental and social determinants of acute rheumatic fever: a longitudinal cohort studyPrevention strategies in ARF endemic settings may be enhanced by targeting new members entering a community and children in environments of close contact
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Dysregulated IL-1β-GM-CSF Axis in Acute Rheumatic Fever That Is Limited by HydroxychloroquineWe propose that hydroxychloroquine could be repurposed to reduce the risk of rheumatic heart disease after acute rheumatic fever