Cortisone Therapy in Acute Rheumatic Carditis: Preliminary Observations

Abstract

Four patients with acute rheumatic carditis of moderate to severe degree were treated with cortisone. After a latent period of 5 to 15 days, there was fairly rapid subsidence in temperature, erytlhrocyte sedimentation rate and some other signs of inflammation. After cessation of the course of cortisone therapy, there was evidence of recrudescence of rheumatic activity in all four patients. In three of these the therapy was resumed, with quite unusually rapid decline in the fever and sedimentation rate. The cardiologic signs showed no improvement throughout the entire period of observation.