ArticleCirculation2017
Latent Rheumatic Heart Disease: Identifying the Children at Highest Risk of Unfavorable Outcome.
Article in Circulation, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Rheumatic Heart Disease in First-Degree Relatives of Index-Cases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Global heart · 2025Pooled it
- Global prevalence and sex differences in rheumatic heart disease: a systematic review and updated meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis for prevention of rheumatic fever recurrence and progression to rheumatic heart disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Prevalence and progression of rheumatic heart disease: a global systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based echocardiographic studies.Scientific reports · 2019Pooled it
- Predictors of Resolution in Rheumatic Heart Disease: Application of the 2023 WHF Criteria in First-Episode Acute Rheumatic Fever.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- An echocardiographic appreciation of rheumatic heart disease: phenotypic variability of valvular involvement and its prognostic implications.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Review
- Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Latin America: a contemporary review of epidemiology.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2026Review
- The Effect of Secondary Prophylaxis Adherence on Rheumatic Heart Disease and Determinants of Poor Adherence in Children: A 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Application of the New 2023 World Heart Federation Criteria to Rheumatic Heart Disease in the Setting of First Episode of Acute Rheumatic Fever: Predictors for Resolution.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics and predictors of adverse outcomes in children with acute rheumatic fever from a high-endemic region of Brazil.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Article
- Development-adjusted inequities and temporal trends in rheumatic heart disease burden across ASEAN countries, 2000-2023.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Research on rheumatic heart disease from 2013 to early 2024: a bibliometric analysis.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2024Article
- 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2024Review
- Using Artificial Intelligence for Rheumatic Heart Disease Detection by Echocardiography: Focus on Mitral Regurgitation.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2024Article
- Primary Healthcare Workers' Awareness of Acute Rheumatic Fever & Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Study in Public Health Facilities in South Western Uganda.Pediatric health, medicine and therapeutics · 2024Article
- Detection and management of latent rheumatic heart disease: a narrative review.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2023Review
- Research priorities for the secondary prevention and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute workshop report.BMJ global health · 2023Review
- Cardiac imaging in rheumatic heart disease and future developments.European heart journal open · 2023Review
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundScreening echocardiography has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for early diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The utility of screening echocardiography hinges on the rate of RHD progression and the ability of penicillin prophylaxis to improve outcome. We report the longitudinal outcomes of a cohort of children with latent RHD and identify risk factors for unfavorable outcomes.
methodsThis was a prospective natural history study conducted under the Ugandan RHD registry. Children with latent RHD and ≥1 year of follow-up were included. All echocardiograms were re-reviewed by experts (2012 World Heart Federation criteria) for inclusion and evidence of change. Bi- and multivariable logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models, as well, were developed to search for risk factors for unfavorable outcome and compare progression-free survival between those treated and not treated with penicillin. Propensity and other matching methods with sensitivity analysis were implemented for the evaluation of the penicillin effect.
resultsBlinded review confirmed 227 cases of latent RHD: 164 borderline and 63 definite (42 mild, 21 moderate/severe). Median age at diagnosis was 12 years and median follow-up was 2.3 years (interquartile range, 2.0-2.9). Penicillin prophylaxis was prescribed in 49.3% with overall adherence of 84.7%. Of children with moderate-to-severe definite RHD, 47.6% had echocardiographic progression (including 2 deaths), and 9.5% had echocardiographic regression. Children with mild definite and borderline RHD showed 26% and 9.8% echocardiographic progression and 45.2% and 46.3% echocardiographic improvement, respectively. Of those with mild definite RHD or borderline RHD, more advanced disease category, younger age, and morphological mitral valve features were risk factors for an unfavorable outcome.
conclusionsLatent RHD is a heterogeneous diagnosis with variable disease outcomes. Children with moderate to severe latent RHD have poor outcomes. Children with both borderline and mild definite RHD are at substantial risk of progression. Although long-term outcome remains unclear, the initial change in latent RHD may be evident during the first 1 to 2 years following diagnosis. Natural history data are inherently limited, and a randomized clinical trial is needed to definitively determine the impact of penicillin prophylaxis on the trajectory of latent RHD.
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