Chronic rheumatic heart disease with recrudescence of acute rheumatic fever on histology: a case report.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where it is the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality in the young. Rheumatic heart disease results from recurrent episodes of acute rheumatic fever (ARF), which are often difficult to diagnose clinically. Acute rheumatic fever may be diagnosed based on the revised Jones Criteria 2015 for the diagnosis of ARF. Histologically, acute rheumatic valvulitis manifests with active inflammation characterized by lymphocytic infiltration, Aschoff bodies, and Anitschkow cells. Chronic rheumatic valvulitis is associated with neovascularization, and/or dystrophic calcification. The combination of histological features of both ARF and chronic RHD is a rare finding.

Case summary

Here we report on a case of a 59-y

SUBMITTER: Mutithu DW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9295691 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature