Improvement in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease management and prevention using a health centre-based continuous quality improvement approach.

Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains a major health concern for Aboriginal Australians. A key component of RHD control is prevention of recurrent acute rheumatic fever (ARF) using long-term secondary prophylaxis with intramuscular benzathine penicillin (BPG). This is the most important and cost-effective step in RHD control.

An Australian guideline for rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: an abridged outline.

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are diseases of poverty. They occur at world-record rates in Indigenous Australians, yet individual cases are often poorly managed, and most jurisdictions with high rates of these diseases do not have formal control strategies in place. New Australian guidelines formulated in 2005 by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand for diagnosis and management of ARF and RHD are a valuable resource for clinicians and policymakers.

Does high blood glucose mean more insulin? Type 1 diabetes management in children and adolescents.

Background: The growth and development occurring in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes contributes to many medical and nonmedical factors that may affect diabetic control.

Objective: This article discusses the assessment of high blood sugar levels in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Discussion: Traditionally, diet, exercise and insulin dose are seen as the determinants of blood glucose levels in type 1 diabetic patients.