A medical and public health, group of the city of São Paulo's Dante Pazzanese Institute of Cardiology (Brazil) chose the Valentim Gentil School's 1532 students to be checked for signs of rheumatic fever. Of these 1532 students, 316 were examined; their ages ranged from 7 to 14. Twenty-six required detailed cardiologic examination, which gave the following results: seventeen were normal; five had congenital heart disease; three showed signs of rheumatic activity, not confirmed; and there was one case of rheumatic cardiopathy. No cases of confirmed rheumatic activity were found during the examinations and only one rheumatic cardiopathy with typical rheumatic fever. Other Brazilian statistics for this type of study are 1.1% and 0.3%. Therefore, P > 0.20% is, statistically, not significant. From the standpoint of public health, the findings were out of proportion to the costs of the study when so much needs to be done for those needing care for verminosis, dental problems, malnutrition and so one.
Rheumatic fever; School children