Tonsillitis and Rheumatic Fever
Since the advent of Penicillin in the 1940s, a major preoccupation in the treatment of streptococcal tonsillitis has been the prevention of rheumatic fever, and its major effects on the nervous system (Sydenham's chorea) and heart. Recent evidence would suggest that the rheumatogenic strains of group A beta hemolytic strep have become markedly less prevalent and are now only present in small pockets such as in Salt Lake City. This brings into question the rationale for treating tonsillitis as a means of preventing rheumatic fever.
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Famous quotes containing the word fever:
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