Rheumatic Heart Disease Screening by Echocardiography

Echocardiography Screening for Rheumatic Heart Disease in Ugandan Schoolchildren

Background—Historically, sub-Saharan Africa has had the highest prevalence rates of clinically detected rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Echocardiography-based screening improves detection of RHD in endemic regions. The newest screening guidelines (2006 World Health Organization/National Institutes of Health) have been tested across India and the Pacific Islands, but application in sub-Saharan Af...

Letter by Pilgrim regarding article, "Echocardiography screening for rheumatic heart disease in Ugandan schoolchildren".

High prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in schoolchildren detected by echocardiography screening in New Caledonia.

AIM Despite the well-documented burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in several Pacific countries, the disease is poorly understood in New Caledonia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of RHD detected by echocardiographic screening in school children. METHODS An annual RHD screening programme is conducted by the Health and Social Agency of New Caledonia for school-aged chil...

Echocardiographic screening for rheumatic heart disease.

doi:10.2471/BLT.07.046680 For a disease to be suitable for screening as a tool of preventive medicine, it must satisfy the following criteria: (1) the evidence of an obvious burden of the disease, (2) an initial latent stage of the condition, (3) which can be detected by appropriate tests, (4) and treated by adequate therapy, and finally (5) to prove that intervention at an early stage can impr...

Handheld echocardiographic screening for rheumatic heart disease by non-experts.

OBJECTIVES Handheld echocardiography (HAND) has good sensitivity and specificity for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) when performed by cardiologists. However, physician shortages in RHD-endemic areas demand less-skilled users to make RHD screening practical. We examine nurse performance and interpretation of HAND using a simplified approach for RHD screening. METHODS Two nurses received trainin...