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Acute rheumatic fever
Because this disease has different forms, no one test can firmly diagnose it. Your doctor will perform a careful exam, which includes checking your heart sounds, skin, and joints.
Tests may include:
Several major and minor criteria have been developed to help standardize rheumatic fever diagnosis. Meeting these criteria, as well as having evidence of a recent streptococcal infection, can help confirm that you have rheumatic fever.
The major criteria for diagnosis include:
The minor criteria include:
You'll likely be diagnosed with rheumatic fever if you meet two major criteria, or one major and two minor criteria, and have signs that you've had a previous strep infection.
Gerber MA. Group A Streptococcus. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 182.