Prevalence of Secondary Cardiac Damage in Rheumatic Fever Patients and Penicillin Secondary Prophylaxis

Prevalence of Secondary Cardiac Damage in Rheumatic Fever Patients and Adherence to Penicillin Secondary Prophylaxis

According to American Heart Association criteria, patients who have had Rheumatic Fever (RF) should be treated with antibiotic prophylaxis. Continuous prophylaxis is recommended in patients with well-documented histories of RF and in those with evidence of rheumatic heart disease.

There is a limited data regarding adherence of patients to treatment and efficacy of treatment.

In this study, patients with RF who are older than 21 years will be collected from a computerized database of 'Maccabi Healthcare Services', one of the biggest Israeli Health Funds. Patients will be assigned to the study after obtaining informed consent.

Previous adherence to antibiotic prophylaxis will be examined according to computerized database of drugs which were issued to the patient since RF diagnosis.

Past history of cardiac involvement, including past Echocardiograms, will be collected from computerized database. In addition, the current cardiac state will be assessed by an experienced cardiologist, including a full new Echocardiogram examination.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients older than 21 years who were diagnosed with RF (before age 18 years) according to the computerized database.

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients with other rheumatic disease diagnosed before RF diagnosis
• patients with other cardiac disease diagnosed before RF diagnosis
• patients with neoplastic disease diagnosed before RF diagnosis