Burden of disease and barriers to comprehensive care for rheumatic heart disease in South Africa: an updated systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is responsible for a significant burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and remains the most common cause of acquired heart disease among children and young adults in low-income and middle-income countries. Additionally, the global COVID-19 pandemic has forced the emergency restructuring of many health systems, which has had a broad impact on health in general, including cardiovascular disease. Despite significant cost to the health system and estimates from 2015 indicating both high incidence and prevalence of RHD in South Africa, no cohesive national strategy exists.

Standard echocardiography versus handheld echocardiography for the detection of subclinical rheumatic heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy.

Objective: To summarise the accuracy of handheld echocardiography (HAND) which, if shown to be sufficiently similar to that of standard echocardiography (STAND), could usher in a new age of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) screening in endemic areas.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Data Sources: PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOHost and ISI Web of Science were initially searched on 27 September 2017 and again on 3 March 2020 for studies published from 2012 onwards.

Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Rheumatic Heart Disease: Implications for Closing the Gap: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

The global burden of rheumatic heart disease continues to be significant although it is largely limited to poor and marginalized populations. In most endemic regions, affected patients present with heart failure. This statement will seek to examine the current state-of-the-art recommendations and to identify gaps in diagnosis and treatment globally that can inform strategies for reducing disease burden.

Task Sharing in the Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management of Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Systematic Review.

Background: Globally, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a major contributor to the burden of cardiovascular disease. Major gaps in RHD prevention and treatment have been documented at all levels of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Task sharing is an approach that could prove effective in remediating bottlenecks in RHD-related care.

Task sharing to improve the prevention, diagnosis and management of rheumatic heart disease: a systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains an important cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality globally due to weak health systems in many countries. RHD can be effectively prevented and managed; however, RHD-related interventions have not been widely adopted in countries with severe human resource constraints. Task sharing is a recognised approach to personnel shortages that could prove effective for RHD and has, anecdotally, been attempted in a few settings.

Child and Adolescent Health From 1990 to 2015: Findings From the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 Study.

Importance: Comprehensive and timely monitoring of disease burden in all age groups, including children and adolescents, is essential for improving population health.

Objective: To quantify and describe levels and trends of mortality and nonfatal health outcomes among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2015 to provide a framework for policy discussion.

Evidence Review: Cause-specific mortality and nonfatal health outcomes were analyzed for 195 countries and territories by age group, sex, and year from 1990 to 2015 using standardized approaches for data processing and statistical modeling, with subsequent analysis of the findings to describe levels and trends across geography and time among children and adolescents 19 years or younger.