Clinical characteristics and cardiac outcome of acute rheumatic fever in Italy in the last 15 years.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze clinical characteristics, cardiac outcome and response to therapy of an Italian pediatric population affected with acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in the last 15 years. METHODS: 135 patients with ARF (aged 2-14.9 years, mean 8.4+/-2.5 years) diagnosed from 1992 to 2006 at the Pediatric Rheumatology Centre of the University of Milan (Italy) were retrospectively reviewed. All patients underwent physical examination, laboratory evaluation, electrocardiogram and echocardiography. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 - patients with complete adherence to updated Jones criteria (107 patients), and group 2 - exceptions (28 patients). Echocardiographic criteria were used to confirm the presence of carditis and to evaluate severity of mitral (MR) and aortic regurgitation (AR) at diagnosis and after treatment with steroids or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). RESULTS: We observed a persistence of ARF in the last 15 years (mean 9 new cases/year with a peak of 19 cases in 2000). Carditis and arthritis were the main major criteria observed (102/135 and 71/135 patients respectively), then chorea (29/135), erythema marginatum (8/135) and subcutaneous nodules (1/135). Arthritis and chorea resolved completely with various therapies. At the last follow-up (> or =5 years) in group 1, loss of MR was observed in 46% steroid-treated (26/56 cases) and in 39% ASA/NSAID-treated (7/18 cases) patients and loss of AR in 59% steroid-treated (22/38) and 2/7 ASA/NSAID-treated patients (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Incidence of ARF is clinically important currently in the area of northern Italy. Non-suppurative complications of streptococcal pharyngitis should be considered when deciding therapy in a pediatric patient that presents with sore throat.

Wilson's disease treated with penicillamine and lupus erythematosus: related or distinct entities?

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been reported to be associated to Wilson's disease, as a complication of treatment with penicillamine. Even though drug-induced lupus erythematosus (DILE) has some features in common with SLE, they are distinct entities. We report the case of a young girl who at the age of five had a diagnosis of Wilson's disease and she started therapy with penicillamine. Eight years after the beginning of therapy, she developed proteinuria, which was considered to be related to penicillamine. Two years later, she developed arthritis, malar rash and laboratory findings suggestive for lupus erythematosus. At the beginning her symptoms, due to the known association between penicillamine and DILE, were thought to be related to this treatment. In this hypothesis, she was referred to the Rheumatology Centre; zinc acetate was substituted for penicillamine and she started naproxen for the treatment of arthritis. Anyway, the subsequent clinical course and laboratory findings led us to a diagnosis of idiopathic SLE. A renal biopsy detected massive mesangiocapillary proliferation with subendothelial deposits (wire loops) and duplication of glomerular basement membrane (active diffuse global proliferative lupus nephritis, class IV G A). To our knowledge, this is the first report of an association between Wilson's disease and SLE.