Persistence of acute rheumatic fever in a tertiary children's hospital.

AIM: To identify and describe all children admitted with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) to a tertiary paediatric hospital in Sydney over a 9-year period and to describe their demographic and clinical characteristics, management and short-term outcomes. Delays in diagnosis, recurrence of ARF and use of secondary prophylaxis were also documented.
METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records for children aged < 15 years admitted to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, with ARF (International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 classification I0.0-109.9) during 2000-2008. Only cases meeting the National Heart Foundation of Australia diagnostic criteria for ARF were included.
RESULTS: Twenty-six children met the National Heart Foundation of Australia criteria for ARF. The median age was 11.5 years (range 5.8-14.6) and 15 (58%) were male. Ten (38%) identified as Pacific Islander, and 5 (19%) as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI). Most (n= 20, 77%) lived in suburban Sydney, and 69% were classified in the two most disadvantaged quintiles on the Index of Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Advantage. Four (15%) had Sydenham's chorea, and 81% had carditis (mitral and/or aortic regurgitation). Six (23%) children had previous ARF. Antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent recurrent ARF was prescribed in all cases, but 50% received oral penicillin, rather than by intramuscular injection. Barriers to timely diagnosis were identified in 81%, including delayed presentation and delayed referral.
CONCLUSION: Most children presenting to the hospital with ARF lived in disadvantaged areas of Sydney. Pacific Islander and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were over-represented. Mitigation of RHD requires early identification of ARF and appropriate delivery of secondary prophylaxis.