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Rheumatic heart disease and school screening: initiatives at an isolated hospital in Tonga
Author(s) -
Finau Sitaleki A.,
Taylor Lee
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1988.tb93813.x
Subject(s) - medicine , heart disease , incidence (geometry) , disease , population , pediatrics , rheumatic disease , rheumatic fever , physical therapy , environmental health , physics , optics
A simple and inexpensive assessment of cardiac murmurs and school health problems was conducted in an isolated island in the kingdom of Tonga. The prevalence of rheumatic and congenital heart disease in the population of 'Eua was 0.5% and 0.15%, respectively. The incidence of rheumatic heart disease for 1985 was 0.8 per 1000 population. The screening of 1106 students, who were aged five to 12 years, showed skin disease to be the most important problem. All identified cases were treated and referred for follow‐up. The total cost of this study was US$281.48. This exercise demonstrated an alternative approach to maximizing the use of health resources as well as maintaining the skill and morale of health workers in isolated areas. (Med J Aust 1988; 148: 563‐567)