Acute Rheumatic Fever Causes, Symptoms And Treatment:

Rheumatic fever is an auto-immune disease that occurs as a result of group A streptococcal pharyngeal infection. In an auto-immune disease, your immune system attacks the healthy cells and causes different chronic diseases. Rheumatic disease affects the heart, joints, central nervous system, skin and subcutaneous tissues. If strep throat and scarlet fever infections are not treated properly, then it can result in rheumatic fever. It is also known as the complication of strep throat. Rheumatic fever can occur in both male and females but symptoms can be serious in females. RF is more common in childhood. It is estimated that 40-60% of patients with rheumatic fever develop rheumatic heart disease. Rheumatic heart disease has the ability to affect all heart valves particularly mitral and aortic.

Causes:

Rheumatic fever is caused by a bacterium, group A Streptococcus. When the pathogen such as group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus enters the bloodstream, it causes sore throat. If the sore throat is left untreated, it results in the development of rheumatic fever.  It is an auto-immune disease. In an auto-immune disease, your immune system attacks the healthy cells and causes different chronic diseases.

Symptoms:

The clinical manifestations of rheumatic fever may include the signs and symptoms which are discussed below, 

·         Fever (101°F or 38.3°C or above for about 3 months)

·         Carditis (Inflammation of heart)

·         Polyarthritis (Inflammation of major body joints such as knee, ankle, elbow and wrist)

·         Chorea (It is a movement disorder that causes purposeless and unpredictable muscle movements)

·         Chest pain

·         Fatigue

·         Heart murmur

·         Swollen lymph nodes

·         Red painless rash

·         Difficulty swallowing

·         Headache

·         Nausea

·         Vomiting

·         Polyarthralgia

·         Cholera

·         Weight loss

·         Stomach pain

·         Tonsils becomes red and swollen

·         Bloody discharge from nose

·         Spots develops on the roof of mouth that are small and red in appearance

·         Bumps beneath the skin

·         Skin bumps and rashes

Treatment:

The aim of treatment in rheumatic fever is to destroy any remaining group A streptococcal bacteria. For this purpose, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics. If you have rheumatic fever, then you should take antibiotics for 10 years or longer to prevent recurrence of rheumatic fever. 

Your doctor may prescribe painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs for the reduction of pain, fever and inflammation. The most commonly prescribed drugs are aspirin or naproxen. Avoid these medicines in children because they can cause Reye syndrome. Reye syndrome is a severe disease that affects the liver and brain.

If there is no improvement with anti-inflammatory drugs, then the alternative option is corticosteroid. Your doctor can also give you antiseizure medications for the treatment of chorea. The commonly given antiepileptic drugs are valproic acid or carbamazepine.