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Sydenham's chorea- A case study.
Sydenham's chorea
Pericardial Calcification Noted Long After Sydenham's Chorea
A 76 year old native Dutch woman was admitted to the intensive care unit for hemodynamic monitoring after
undergoing vulvectomy (removal of vulva) and inguinal lymph node dissection for vulvar carcinoma.
Preoperative evaluation revealed a history of deep vein thrombosis, type 2 diabetes mellitus and
atrial fibrillation with a slightly reduced tolerance of exercise and peripheral edema (swelling in the legs).
There was no known history of mitral-valve disease or murmur on examination. Previous cataract surgery and drainage of
a subdural hematoma had been performed with no complications. Two chest X-rays and a CT scan revealed extensive
pericardial (around the heart) calcification. The patient had no history of infection with tuberculosis, but in
childhood she had had a Sydenham's chorea. Sydenham's chorea also known as St. Vitus's dance or chorea minor is a
self-limited, autoimmune-mediated choreiform movement disorder that follows infection with Streptococcus pyogenes. In
this case the pericardial calcification is suspected to have resulted from an earlier bout of rheumatic fever.
SYDENHAM's CHOREA Arthur R Bauman, M.D., Ph.D., Rob J. M. Strack van Schijndel, M.D. Pericardial Calcification Noted
Long After Sydenham’s Chorea, N Engl J Med 36;14:1386
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