This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical presentation

Authoring team

Clinical features are as follows:

  • patients are 5 to 15 years old
  • streptococcal infection is a prerequisite for subsequent development of rheumatic fever
  • the latent period following a streptococcal infection is 2 to 6 weeks
  • typically the patient will have migratory polyarthritis with a low-grade fever
  • 50-75% of children will develop acute carditis; in adults this figure is only 35%
  • myocarditis causes arrythmias, usually atrial fibrillation, and a prolonged P-R interval
  • cardiac dilatation may occur, resulting in murmurs of valvular insufficiency, mitral most commonly, then aortic, then tricuspid
  • valvulitis is marked by the systolic murmur of mitral regurgitation and the diastolic murmur of aortic regurgitation
  • subcutaneous nodules are a rare feature

Other abnormal findings on cardiovascular examination include:

  • sinus tachycardia
  • raised jugular venous pressure, due to heart failure which is now rare
  • a Carey-Coombs murmur

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.