Revised Jones Criteria For The Diagnosis of Acute Rheumatic Fever (AHA 2015) - An Indian Perspective

Abstract

Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) is still a major problem in some developing and low middle income countries though the incidence and prevalence has remarkably reduced in North America and Europe.  Ever since T. Duckett   Jones in 1944 proposed the Jones criteria, it was modified and later revised by the American Heart Association (AHA) in 1992. This was reconfirmed in and AHA sponsored Work shop in 2002. No modification or change was suggested after the introduction of Doppler Echocardiography (DE) for the diagnosis of clinical and “subclinical carditisâ€. When a clinical diagnosis by the clinician fails to show evidence of carditis, DE ay pick up cases of “subclinical carditisâ€. Also previous recommendations did not include the Classification of Recommendations (Class I, II a, II b, and III) and Levels of Evidence (Levels A, B and C). Recently, however, a scientific statement from the AHA has published an update to the Jones criteria including the use of DE in the diagnosis of ARF.