Sydenham chorea

Alternative names:

St. Vitus dance

Symptoms:

• history of sore throat preceding, by several weeks, the appearance of Sydenham's chorea
• onset of uncontrollable movements
• movements are jerky and purposeless
• loss of fine motor control
• emotional lability with bouts of inappropriate crying or laughing
• any other signs of rheumatic fever (see acute rheumatic fever)
• occurs most frequently in prepubertal females but may occur in males

Signs and tests:

There may be a history of sore throat for several weeks preceding the appearance of Sydenham's chorea.

Tests that may show signs of rheumatic fever include:

• ESR
• ASO
• CRP (C-reactive protein)
• streptozyme test

Other tests related to acute rheumatic fever:

• ECG
• echocardiogram