Acute Rheumatic Fever Incidence in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Abstract
To assess the incidence of acute rheumatic fever among Arab children in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, we reviewed the medical records of children admitted to Dhahran Health Center with acute rheumatic fever between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1984. Thirty Arab children with definite initial attacks of acute rheumatic fever were identified. The mean annual incidence rate of acute rheumatic fever was 22 per 100,000 Arab children between 5 and 14 years old. The clinical manifestations included arthritis in 80% of the 30 patients, carditis in 60%, and chorea in 6.6%. The results of this study indicate that rheumatic fever is a significant health problem in Saudi Arabia. MeSH KEYWORDS: Rheumatic fever–occurrence