Rheumatic fever in Minnesota. II. Evaluation of hospitalized patients and utilization of a state rheumatic fever registry

M.J. Rice and E.L. Kaplan

American Journal of Public Health, 1979, vol. 69, issue 8, 767-771

Abstract: We studied the hopital records of 124 patients with a discharge diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever who were hospitalized in 21 Minneapolis-St. Paul hospitals during 1975 and 1976. After carful review of the hospital records, we found that 83 (67 per cent) of these patients did not have an acute ilness. Seventeen (41 per cent) of the 41 cases with an acute illness were thought to adequately fulfill the Jones' Criteria for acute rheumatic fever. Upon review of the rheumatic fever registry of the Minnesota State Health Department, we found that less than one-half of the hospitalized patients had been reported to the registry. Cases that fulfilled and did not fulfill the Jones' Criteria were reported with equal frequency, indicating significant underreporting and overreporting of rheumatic fever. Evaluation of secondary rheumatic fever prophylaxis, both in those patients with acute rheumatic fever as well as in those with rheumatic heart disease, indicated that many patients who, in theory, should be receiving prophylaxis were not receiving it. These studies indicate a need for more thorough evaluation of the current epidemiology of rheumatic fever and the role of a rheumatic fever registry, and imply a need for reevaluation of these programs.

Date: 1979
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1979:69:8:767-771_1

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().