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Sydenham chorea - Treatment

Alternative Names

St. Vitus dance

Treatment:

Antibiotics used to kill the bacteria that cause rheumatic fever. The doctor may also prescribe antibiotics to prevent future rhematic fever infections. This is called preventive antibiotics, or antibiotic prophylaxis.

Symptoms will be treated as appropriate. Sedation may be needed in severe cases.

Expectations (prognosis):

Sydenham chorea usually clears up in a few months. In rare cases, an unusual form of Sydenham chorea may begin later in life.

Complications:

No complications are expected.

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if your child develops uncontrollable or jerky movements, especially if the child has recently had a sore throat.

Reviewed last on: 9/28/2010
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Bisno AL. Rheumatic fever. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 313.

Lang A. Other movement disorders. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 434.

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