Q-T INTERVAL DURING ACTIVE AND INACTIVE RHEUMATIC FEVER

[摘要] The Q-Tc in 79 normal children ranging in age from 2 to 12 years was found to be 0.418 with a standard deviation of 0.016.The Q. Tc was studied in 208 children ranging in age from 3 to 13 years during active rheumatic fever and chorea. One hundred nineteen of these patients were subsequently followed in the cardiac clinics. The P-R interval was studied simultaneously, and observation were made in regard to the presence or absence of resultant organic heart disease.A significant number of patients showed prolongation of the Q-Tc value during the acute illness, far more so in those with rheumatic carditis than with polyarthritis or chorea alone. During the inactive phase, a number of patients maintained a prolonged Q-Tc value.The Q-Tc value in patients with rheumatic fever is an additional laboratory aid which may help in determining the presence of active carditis. The prolongation of the Q-Tc value in polyarthritis and in chorea in the absence of other clinical findings should suggest further observation for the possible presence of a mild carditis. However, in evaluating patients whose Q-Tc is above normal and in whom the presence of active carditis is otherwise questioned, consideration must be given to the fact that the Q-Tc has been found to exceed the upper limit of normal in some normal children.These findings show that, following active rheumatic fever, in some patients the Q-Tc value may remain prolonged over long periods of time in the absence of any manifest clinical activity or change in the cardiac status of the patient. Therefore it is the opinion of the authors that when careful evaluation over a period of time shows no other clinical or laboratory evidence of rheumatic activity, the sole finding of a Q-Tc remaining above normal range should not be considered as indicative of persistence of active carditis.

[学科分类] 儿科学