Sydenham chorea
Alternate Names : St. Vitus dance
Symptoms & Signs
- Changes in handwriting
- Jerky, uncontrollable, and purposeless movements in different muscle groups (looks like twitching)
- Loss of fine motor control, especially of the fingers and hands
- Loss of emotional control, with bouts of inappropriate crying or laughing
- Symptoms of rheumatic fever (see acute rheumatic fever)
Diagnosis & Tests
There may be a history of sore throat for several weeks before Sydenham chorea. Blood tests that may show signs of rheumatic fever include erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Different blood tests may be done to identify whether the child may have a strep infection.
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