Revision of the Jones Criteria for the Diagnosis of Acute Rheumatic Fever at Jiblah University Hospital, Yemen
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47363/JPRSR/2024(5)158Keywords:
Acute Rheumatic Fever, ASO, Jiblah University Hospital, Jones Criteria, YemenAbstract
Background: Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) is an important and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries including Yemen. Jones criteria provided a standardized approach for the identification of Acute Rheumatic Fever and facilitated an improvement in early case detection
Aims: To determine the extent to which physicians rely on Jones criteria to diagnose acute rheumatic fever in patients attending Jiblah University Hospital, Yemen.
Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out at Jiblah University Hospital in Jiblah town, Yemen. Data of 71 convenience samples were collected through an open-ended questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 26.
Results: Of 71 clinically diagnosed cases of ARF who tested high ASO titer, only 10 (14.1%) met the revised Jones criteria.
Conclusions: The financial inability of patients to undergo Doppler echocardiography coupled with physician’s negligence about the importance of Jones criteria for diagnosing rheumatic fever and their reliance on high ASO titers for diagnosing rheumatic fever could lead to misdiagnosis of rheumatic fever in the study area.
