rheumatic fever

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Thân thiện
Definition

Noun: A serious inflammatory disease that can develop as a complication of inadequately treated strep throat or scarlet fever. It primarily affects children and is characterized by fever, painful and swollen joints (arthritis), and often causes inflammation that can damage the heart valves, potentially leading to long-term heart problems.

Usage

Rheumatic fever is used as a medical term to describe a specific post-streptococcal illness. - It is typically a non-count noun when referring to the disease as a condition (e.g., diagnosed with rheumatic fever). - It can be used in a general sense or with modifiers to specify aspects (e.g., acute rheumatic fever, a case of rheumatic fever).

Examples
  • Noun:
    • The child was hospitalized with a high fever and joint pain, and was eventually diagnosed with rheumatic fever.
    • Prompt antibiotic treatment for strep throat is crucial to prevent rheumatic fever.
    • The most serious consequence of rheumatic fever is permanent damage to the heart valves, known as rheumatic heart disease.
Advanced Usage
  • "to develop/contract rheumatic fever": to become ill with the disease.
    • He developed rheumatic fever after an untreated streptococcal infection.
  • "rheumatic fever prophylaxis": long-term antibiotic treatment to prevent recurrent attacks.
    • Patients with a history of the disease often require rheumatic fever prophylaxis for many years.
Variants and Related Words
  • Rheumatic (adjective): Pertaining to or affected by rheumatism, or specifically to rheumatic fever.
    • She has a rheumatic heart condition from a childhood illness.
  • Rheumatic heart disease (noun phrase): The chronic heart valve damage resulting from rheumatic fever.
    • The patient's rheumatic heart disease required surgical intervention.
Synonyms
  • Acute rheumatic fever (full medical term).
  • Post-streptococcal reactive arthritis (a related but distinct condition, sometimes used in a similar context).
Related Phrases
  • Jones Criteria (noun phrase): The set of guidelines used to diagnose rheumatic fever.
    • The doctor applied the Jones Criteria to confirm the diagnosis.
  • Streptococcal pharyngitis (noun phrase): The strep throat infection that can precede rheumatic fever.
    • Treating streptococcal pharyngitis effectively is key to prevention.
Noun
  1. a severe disease chiefly of children and characterized by painful inflammation of the joints and frequently damage to the heart valves