The most characteristic manifestations of acute rheumatic fever are wandering polyarthritis, carditis, annular erythema, subcutaneous nodules, and chorea, which may occur singly or in combination.
1. Wandering polyarthritis. The most common clinical manifestation, mainly involving large joints such as knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, shoulders, etc. There may be local redness, swelling, heat and pain, and the joint symptoms usually subside within 2 weeks.
2. Carditis. Patients often have palpitations, shortness of breath and precordial discomfort after exercise.
3. Circumscribed erythema. The rash is a light red circular erythema with a pale center, which appears and disappears suddenly and subsides in a few hours or 1~2 days, distributed in the proximal limbs and trunk.
4. Subcutaneous nodules. Slightly hard, painless nodules, located in the subcutaneous tissue on the extensor side of the joints, with no adhesion to the skin, no redness or inflammatory changes in the surface skin, is one of the manifestations of rheumatic activity.
5. Chorea. It often occurs in children aged 4-7 years old, as a kind of purposeless and involuntary trunk or limb movement.
It is recommended that patients with the above manifestations or diagnosed with rheumatic fever should go to regular hospitals in time and follow the doctor’s instructions for standardized diagnosis and treatment.