The Treatment and Nursing Care of Chorea

Abstract

ever, a variety of treatments have yielded good results. Chorea is thought to be caused by a streptococcus organism. A theory that is becoming accepted is that rheumatic fever, chorea, and endocarditis are different manifestations of an infection by the same organism. For example, chorea results when the brain is invaded, rheumatic fever when the joints are attacked, and endocarditis when the heart is the seat of the infection. This is thought to explain the frequent occurrences of all or many of these manifestations in the same individual. Chorea presents both a seasonal and an age incidence practically identical with arthritis. It is very rarely met with under three years of age and develops most commonly between the ages of five and ten years. The disease occurs more often in girls than it does in boys. It is also interesting that chorea is found more frequently among the poorer classes, and rarely seen among the well-to-do. This has been attributed to a variety of conditions and much stress has been laid upon damp housing and undernourishment.