1. A nationwide study on Sydenham's chorea: Clinical features, treatment and prognostic factors
- Author
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Piero Pavone, Patrizia Dassi, Chiara Marra, Clara Malattia, Anna Fetta, Irene Bagnasco, Alberto Verrotti, Alessandro Orsini, Filippo Greco, Alice Bonuccelli, Salvatore Savasta, Stefano Sartori, Patrizia Bergonzini, Mariasole Magistrali, Bernadette Marrè Brunenghi, Daniele Marcotulli, Rita Consolini, Carlotta Canavese, Diego Peroni, Elisa De Grandis, Margherita Nosadini, Niccolò Carli, Gian Luigi Marseglia, Maurizio Viri, Thomas Foiadelli, Duccio Maria Cordelli, Francesco Nicita, Francesco Bassanese, Gabriele Simonini, Sabrina Siquilini, Francesca Marchese, Amanda Papa, Pasquale Striano, Alessandro Capuano, and Sara Matricardi
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Sydenham's chorea ,Disease ,Lower risk ,Chorea ,Internal medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Child ,Depression (differential diagnoses) ,Retrospective Studies ,Subclinical infection ,business.industry ,Mental Disorders ,Carditis ,General Medicine ,Prognosis ,medicine.disease ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Neurology (clinical) ,Rheumatic Fever ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Anxiety disorder - Abstract
Sydenham's Chorea (SC) is a neuropsychiatric disorder and a major manifestation of acute rheumatic fever. The erroneous assumption that SC is a benign and self-limiting disease, has led to a lack of high-quality scientific evidence of the therapeutical and prognostic features of SC.We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients18-years old with SC in 17 Italian pediatric centers. Recorded data included clinical, instrumental and laboratory parameters. Prognostic risk factors including treatment regimens were assessed with univariate and multivariate sub-analysis.We included 171 patients with SC. 66% had generalized chorea, and 34% hemichorea. 81% had carditis (subclinical in 65%). Additional neurological symptoms were reported in 60% of the patients, mainly dysarthria and dysgraphia. 51% had neuropsychiatric symptoms at onset, which persisted after 12 months in 10%. Among psychiatric manifestations, the most common was anxiety disorder/depression (77%). Neurological remission was reached by 93% of the patients at 6 months; 9% relapsed. Patients were treated as follows: 11% penicillin alone, 37% immunomodulatory therapy, 16% symptomatic drugs (i.e. anti-seizure medication, dopamine antagonists) and 37% both symptomatic and immunomodulatory treatment. Neurological outcome did not differ between groups. Patients receiving symptomatic drugs had a higher risk of relapse on multivariate analysis (p = 0.045).Treatment of SC was largely heterogeneous. Based on our results, immunomodulatory therapy did not show higher efficacy at medium term, although it was associated to a slightly lower risk of relapse compared to symptomatic therapy. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess specific risk factors and best treatment options.
- Published
- 2022