The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including with new information specifically addressed to individuals in the European Economic Area. As described in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences.

Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.

×
Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.155.8.1122

OBJECTIVE: The incidence and course of neuropsychiatric symptoms were determined in pediatric patients with rheumatic fever. METHOD: The Leyton Obsessional Inventory and National Institute of Mental Health Global Obsessive-Compulsive Scale were used to evaluate children and adolescents who had rheumatic fever with Sydenham's chorea (N=30) or without chorea (N=20). They were assessed three times over 6 months from the onset of rheumatic fever. Psychiatric diagnoses were also determined. RESULTS: Obsessive-compulsive symptoms abruptly appeared and peaked during the 2 months after the onset of rheumatic fever in 21 patients with chorea (70.0%) and were absent in all patients without chorea. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) was diagnosed in five patients with chorea (16.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The association between Sydenham's chorea and OCD supports suggestions that similar mechanisms involving the basal ganglia underlie both disorders. Obsessive-compulsive symptoms occurred at the beginning of rheumatic fever, so early psychopathological assessments are essential. (Am J Psychiatry 1998; 155:1122–1124)