Medical Encyclopedia:
Sydenham's Chorea: Prevention
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More about Sydenham's Chorea:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
All strep throats should be treated with a full 10 days of antibiotics (penicillin or erythromycin). Treatment may best be delayed a day or two to allow the body to build up its own antibodies. In addition, for those who have had an episode of rheumatic fever or have damaged heart valves from any other cause, prophylactic antibiotics should be continued to prevent recurrence.
It is possible to eradicate dangerous streptococcus from a community by culturing everyone's throat and treating everyone who tests positive. This is worth doing wherever a case of rheumatic fever appears, but it is expensive and requires many resources.
— J. Ricker Polsdorfer, MD
