Visiting consultant clinics to study prevalence rates of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and childhood systemic lupus erythematosus across dispersed geographic areas.

Objective: Visiting consultant clinics (VCC) may provide pediatric rheumatologic care to children in rural populations, but the clinical demands have not been studied. We studied whether these clinics could be effective in determining prevalence rates of rheumatic illness like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) and childhood systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) across large dispersed geographic areas.

Methods: The study population included children diagnosed with JRA or SLE at the only civilian pediatric rheumatology center in the State of Hawaii.

Ethnic differences for developing rheumatic fever in a low-income group living in Hawaii.

Unlabelled: The risk factors responsible for acute rheumatic fever (ARF) are complex, in part, because group A streptococcus (GAS) infection is a prerequisite for this disease. We attempted to differentiate socioeconomic from genetic risk factors by studying subjects in a Hawaii pediatric cardiology clinic who qualified for Medicaid. This ethnically diverse group was unique because they maintained a low socioeconomic but generally healthy lifestyle with more limited risks than those living in extremely impoverished conditions.

Ethnic differences in risk for pediatric rheumatic illness in a culturally diverse population.

Objective: To analyze the differences of occurrence of pediatric rheumatic disease among various ethnic groups in a culturally diverse isolated geographic area.

Methods: A retrospective study of pediatric rheumatic diseases in a multiethnic area during a 6 year period.

Results: A group of 922 patients was categorized based on predominant ethnicity, and their risk of having acute rheumatic fever (ARF), juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was studied.