Rheumatic fever in Nigerian children. A prospective study of 66 patients.

Sixty-six Nigerian children with rheumatic fever were studied between 1975 and 1979. Equal numbers of patients had acute and chronic disease. Carditis was the most common major manifestation, being present in 98% of the cases, whereas subcutaneous nodules, erythema marginatum, and chorea were relatively rare. Twelve patients died within two years of the disease's appearance and eight have become unavailable for follow-up. Our findings resemble those from other tropical countries, in contrast with results from temperate countries: rheumatic fever manifests differently and rheumatic carditis runs a more fulminant course in a person from a tropical area.