Rheumatic pneumonia is a well-described, poorly understood, rare manifestation of rheumatic fever that is generally fatal. Until 1958, when Brown and his colleagues presented their comprehensive discussion, pediatric journals provided only five references. Since then, only one article has appeared in the pediatric literature. As illustrated by the following case report, pediatricians need to be aware of rheumatic pnuemonia in order to determine optimal therapy and management.
CASE REPORT
A.M., a 13-year-old Mexican-American boy, was in apparent good health until he developed fleeting arthralgia, abdominal pain, and low-grade fever. The day following the onset of symptoms acute appendicitis was suspected, and a laparotomy was performed at a community hospital.
The Role of Imaging in Acute Appendicitis among Children from a Community Hospital