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A community-based program to reduce acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in northern AustraliaIn Australia’s north, Aboriginal peoples live with world-high rates of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and its precursor, acute rheumatic fever (ARF); driven by social and environmental determinants of health. We undertook a program of work to strengthen RHD primordial and primary prevention using a model addressing six domains: housing and environmental support, community awareness and empowerment, health literacy, health and education service integration, health navigation and health provider education.
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Group A Streptococcal Diseases and Their Global BurdenWe review GAS transmission characteristics and prevention strategies, historical and geographical trends and report on the estimated global burden disease...
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Rheumatic Fever Follow-Up Study (RhFFUS) protocol: A cohort study investigating the significance of minorIn Australia, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is almost exclusively restricted to Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people with children being...
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The future of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in AustraliaGlobally, ARF and RHD cause more than a quarter of a million deaths and substantial disability each year.
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Severe adverse reactions to benzathine penicillin G in rheumatic heart disease: A systematic review and meta-analysisFear of severe adverse reaction (SAR) and reluctance of health care providers to administer intramuscular injections are major contributing factors to poor adherence of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) in the management of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). However, data on the risk of SARs following BPG injections for RHD are relatively limited and inconclusive. Our systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the incidence of SARs associated with BPG injections used for secondary prophylaxis of RHD.
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Population pharmacokinetics of penicillin G: insights into increased clearance at low concentrations to guide development of improved long-acting formulations for syphilisAlthough benzylpenicillin (penicillin G) is listed by the World Health Organization as an Essential Medicine, dose optimization is a persistent challenge, especially for long-acting intramuscular formulations. Maintaining sustained antibiotic exposure at target concentrations is crucial for secondary chemoprophylaxis of rheumatic heart disease and treatment of syphilis.
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Missed Opportunities for Diagnosing Acute Rheumatic FeverWe have read with interest the new publication by Rouhiainen and colleagues on missed opportunities for preventing or diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).
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Are minor echocardiographic changes associated with an increased risk of acute rheumatic fever or progression to rheumatic heart disease?We aimed to determine the significance of minor heart valve abnormalities, including Borderline RHD, in predicting the future risk of acute rheumatic fever.
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Environmental and social determinants of acute rheumatic fever: a longitudinal cohort studyPrevention strategies in ARF endemic settings may be enhanced by targeting new members entering a community and children in environments of close contact
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Understanding group A streptococcal pharyngitis and skin infections as causes of rheumatic fever: Protocol for a prospective disease incidence studyThis study will identify the incidence of true Group A Streptococcal pharyngitis and serological responses to Group A Streptococcal GAS skin infections