Abstract
There has been a marked decline in mortality due to rheumatic fever in the United States. We present evidence for the important role of penicillin in changing the severity of rheumatic carditis, beginning about 1946. Since that year, mortality due to rheumatic carditis has rapidly decreased (House of the Good Samaritan, Boston), the rate of loss of all murmurs in patients at the study hospital accelerated simultaneously and exceeded 40 percent by 1970, and the rates of decline in national mortality due to rheumatic carditis accelerated fourfold with the advent of antibiotics. These data, together with reports or recent outbreaks of rheumatic fever, emphasize the importance of continued efforts to diagnose and treat Group A streptococcal pharyngitis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 280-286 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | New England Journal of Medicine |
| Volume | 318 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| State | Published - 1988 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)
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Penicillin and the marked decrease in morbidity and mortality from rheumatic fever in the United States. / Massell, B. F.; Chute, Christopher; Walker, A. M.; Kurland, G. S.
In: New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 318, No. 5, 1988, p. 280-286.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Penicillin and the marked decrease in morbidity and mortality from rheumatic fever in the United States
AU - Massell, B. F.
AU - Chute, Christopher
AU - Walker, A. M.
AU - Kurland, G. S.
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - There has been a marked decline in mortality due to rheumatic fever in the United States. We present evidence for the important role of penicillin in changing the severity of rheumatic carditis, beginning about 1946. Since that year, mortality due to rheumatic carditis has rapidly decreased (House of the Good Samaritan, Boston), the rate of loss of all murmurs in patients at the study hospital accelerated simultaneously and exceeded 40 percent by 1970, and the rates of decline in national mortality due to rheumatic carditis accelerated fourfold with the advent of antibiotics. These data, together with reports or recent outbreaks of rheumatic fever, emphasize the importance of continued efforts to diagnose and treat Group A streptococcal pharyngitis.
AB - There has been a marked decline in mortality due to rheumatic fever in the United States. We present evidence for the important role of penicillin in changing the severity of rheumatic carditis, beginning about 1946. Since that year, mortality due to rheumatic carditis has rapidly decreased (House of the Good Samaritan, Boston), the rate of loss of all murmurs in patients at the study hospital accelerated simultaneously and exceeded 40 percent by 1970, and the rates of decline in national mortality due to rheumatic carditis accelerated fourfold with the advent of antibiotics. These data, together with reports or recent outbreaks of rheumatic fever, emphasize the importance of continued efforts to diagnose and treat Group A streptococcal pharyngitis.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0023846067&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 3336421
AN - SCOPUS:0023846067
VL - 318
SP - 280
EP - 286
JO - New England Journal of Medicine
JF - New England Journal of Medicine
SN - 0028-4793
IS - 5
ER -