Previous Traditional Medicine Use for Sore Throat among Children Evaluated for Rheumatic Fever in Northern Uganda.

Timely diagnosis of group A streptococcal (GAS) sore throat coupled with appropriate antibiotic treatment is necessary to prevent serious post-streptococcal complications, including rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Traditional medicine (TM) is a known common adjunct to formal medical care in sub-Saharan Africa. A better understanding of health-seeking behavior for sore throat both within and outside the formal medical system is critical to improving primary prevention efforts of RF and RHD. A prospective mixed-methods study on the use of TM for sore throat was embedded within a larger epidemiological study of RF in Northern Uganda. Children presenting with symptoms of RF were interviewed about recent TM use as well as health services use for sore throat. One hundred children with a median age of 10 years (interquartile range: 6.8-13 years) completed the TM interview with their parent/guardian as part of a research study of RF. Seventeen, or 17%, accessed a TM provider for sore throat as part of the current illness, and 70% accessed TM for sore throat in the past (73% current or past use). Of the 20 parents who witnessed the TM visit, 100% reported use of crude tonsillectomy. Penicillin was the most frequently prescribed medication by TM providers in 52% of participants who were seen by a TM provider. The use of TM among children presenting with symptoms of sore throat in northern Uganda is common and frequently used in tandem with diagnostic services offered through the formal healthcare system. Engagement with TM practitioners may provide an important avenue for designing effective primary prevention and management strategies of RF and reduce the global burden of RHD.

Evolução tardia de pacientes com baixo escore ecocardiográfico submetidos a comissurotomia mitral / Latee evolution of patients with low ecocardiographic score submitted to mitral comissurotomy

A comissurotomia mitral a céu aberto tem bons resultados imediatos em pacientes com baixo escore ecocardiográfico. Nosso objetivo é analisar os resultados tardios. Foram operados 50 pacientes com escore  9 e área valvar mitral (AVM) de 0,940,2cm2. Não houve óbito hospitalar. Com seguimento de 383,58 pacientes/ano, a sobrevida actuarial, a sobrevida livre de reoperação e de tromboembolismo foram respectivamente: / Open mitral comissurotomy has good immediate results in patients with low echocardiographic score. Our purpose is to analyse the late results. Fifthy patients were operated with score  9 and 0.940.2cm2 mitral valve area (MVA). There was no hospital death. With a 383.58 patients/year follow-up, actuarial survival, freedom from reoperation and thromboembolism were respectively...

Fiebre reumatica: cardiopatia reumatica: revision de la experiencia del Instituto Nacional de Torax / Rheumatic fever: cardiopaty experience at the national Thorax Institute

Se analiza la experiencia del Instituto Nal. del Torax en relacion a la Fiebre reumatica y Cardiopatia reumatica, que constituyen la causa nosologica de mayor frecuencia con una incidencia del 17 por ciento . La fiebre reumatica se presenta a una edad promedio de 15,7 anos con una alta incidencia de carditis 72 por ciento . Entre las lesiones valvulares residuales destacan por su frecuencia la valvulopatia mitral y la valvulopatia mitrotricuspidea, en la mayoria de casos con lesiones importantes y asociadas a una alta incidencia de complicaciones cardiologicas destacando la insuficiencia cardiaca (50 por ciento ) y la fibrilicion auricular (32 por ciento ). El Departamento de Cardiologia del INT, dispone de los medios suficientes para el diagnostico cardiologico de la Fiebre reumatica/Cardiopatia Reumatica. Las normas de tratamiento estan basadas en las recomendaciones del Comite Nacionalde Prevencion y Control de la Fiebre Reumatica. La mortalidad por Fiebre reumatica es de 6 por ciento con una cifra similar para la cardiopatia reumatica. La mortalidad quirurgica para la comisurotomia mitral es de 0 por ciento y aun no se disponen de datos de importancia estadistica en relacion a la mortalidad por cambio valvular. En el seguimiento el 36 por ciento de los pacientes abandonan sus controles y el indice de desercion de la prevencion secundaria es alto alcanzando 24,4 por ciento en el ano 1986.