Complications of physician misdiagnosistreatment of rheumatic fever in the United States.docVIP

Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology, 2013, 4, 143-146 ABB /10.4236/abb.2013.41A021 Published Online January 2013 (/journal/abb/) Complications of physician misdiagnosis/treatment of rheumatic fever in the United States Diana C. Peterson Department of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, USA Email: dcpet@ Received 1 November 2012; revised 10 December 2012; accepted 8 January 2013 ABSTRACT diated by humoral and cellular auto-immune responses to Streptococcus pyogenes infections [1,2]. Initial RF epi- sodes can produce either mild or severe symptoms and damage, however milder outcomes are more common with an initial presentation (e.g., endocarditis, heart valve damage, Sydenham’s chorea, rheumatoid arthritis, and potentially depression and obsessive compulsive disor- der) [3]. When diagnosed and treated early, most RF individuals have little to no life-altering symptomology. However, misdiagnosis and/or lack of prophylactic treat- ment lead to progressive damage, invasive interventions, decreased quality of life, and increased morbidity. Rheumatic fever is an auto-immune disease caused by exposure to Streptococcus pyogenes. Over the last 50 years, reports of rheumatic fever within the United States have diminished. The decrease was attributed to the advent of penicillin in the treatment of strepto- coccus infections. We propose that current diagnostic and treatment methodologies may adversely increase the morbidity rate of rheumatic fever within the Uni- ted States. Publication rates and interest in rheumatic fever has diminished over the last 30 years. Because of this decline, many physicians are only vaguely aware of the disorder. Additionally, the fear of antibiotic resistance has influenced the Center of Disease Con- trol to suggest a significant decrease in the use of an- tibiotics by physicians. Although extremely valid for the future health and well-being of the po