Significance of silent carditis and investigation of follow-up signs in acute rheumatic fever.

This study aimed to demonstrate the importance of ECHO in the diagnosis and long-term follow-up of silent carditis.

This study included 182 (157 arthritis; 25 chorea) patients out of 214 patients who had been diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever for the first time. All of the patients were scanned with ECHO between specific intervals.

While there was no recovery observed in isolated aortic insufficiency during long-term follow-up, recovery in isolated mitral insufficiency was found. As the follow-up time of the mitral and aortic insufficiencies became longer, there was an increase in recovery in aortic insufficiency.

Follow-up results of silent carditis support that ECHO should be among the major criteria used to diagnose rheumatic carditis.