Przemyslaw Kustra*

Department of Conservative Dentistry with Endodontics, Jagiellonian University of Medical College, Poland

*Corresponding Author: Przemyslaw Kustra, Department of Conservative Dentistry with Endodontics, Jagiellonian University of Medical College, Poland.

Received: April 25, 2023; Published: May 15, 2023

Abstract

Rheumatic fever (RF) is a multi-organ inflammatory disease that develops on an autoimmune basis as a response to throat infection with group A beta-hemolytic Streptococci in individuals of a particular predisposition. It is revealed, on average, in the 3rd week of the asymptomatic latency period after throat infection, in the form of carditis, arthritis, chorea minor, skin and soft tissue reactions, leaving permanent sequelae only in the area of the heart. The natural course of RF is characterized by relapses, which are a clinical reproduction of the first course of the disease.

The highest incidence of RF involves the population with the highest risk of streptococcal pharyngitis, i.e., children aged 5-15 years, with a peak between the ages of 10 and 12 years, with no gender-related differences. Disease also occurs among younger children as well as adults. Fresh cases of RF in Poland are now encountered only sporadically, and the picture and clinical course of the disease have become considerably milder in the last two decades.

 Keywords: Rheumatic Fever; Streptococcus; Streptococci

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Citation

Citation: Przemyslaw Kustra. “Rheumatic Fever, A Review of the Literature”. Acta Scientific Dental Sciences 7.6 (2023): 14-20.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Przemyslaw Kustra. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.