ACUTE rheumatic fever, in the absence of intercurrent streptococcal respiratory infections and rheumatic recrudescences, is generally a self-limited disease that subsides within twelve weeks.

Rheumatic heart disease is a chronic condition that results years after acute rheumatic fever, which is caused by group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyogenes. This organism produces a ...

The historical record shows that the battle to prevent and find cures for infectious disease will lead to a lower incidence of chronic, disabling diseases. At the same time, efforts to find ...

A RECENT review of the literature 1 and our own experience at the House of the Good Samaritan 2–5 suggest that early treatment of rheumatic fever with ACTH and cortisone may prevent or mitigate ...