The psychiatric symptoms of rheumatic fever.

Mercadante MT, Busatto GF, Lombroso PJ, Prado L, Rosario-Campos MC, do Valle R, Marques-Dias MJ, Kiss MH, Leckman JF, Miguel EC.

Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. mtmerc@mtecnetsp.com.br

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OBJECTIVE: This study examined the frequency and age at onset of psychiatric disorders among children with rheumatic fever, Sydenham's chorea, or both and a comparison group. METHOD: Twenty children with rheumatic fever, 22 with Sydenham's chorea, and 20 comparison children were assessed by means of a semistructured interview and rating scales for tic disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. RESULTS: Obsessive-compulsive symptoms were more frequent in both the Sydenham's chorea and rheumatic fever groups than in the comparison group. The Sydenham's chorea group had a higher frequency of major depressive disorder, tic disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than both the comparison and rheumatic fever groups. ADHD symptoms were associated with a higher risk of developing Sydenham's chorea. CONCLUSIONS: Both the rheumatic fever and Sydenham's chorea groups were associated with a higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders than the comparison group. ADHD appears to be a risk factor for Sydenham's chorea in children with rheumatic fever.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11097972&query_hl=13&itool=pubmed_docsum