Our very own Emanuela Ferrarin and Michael Morton have recently published an article in Quaderni ACP on the issues around penicillin prophylaxis for Italian children with Sydenham’s chorea (or rheumatic fever).

It presents the results of a survey done in association with the Italian Sydenham’s chorea, Rheumatic fever and PANDAS family support group.

The article is in Italian and available here – the English summary is as follows:

“Secondary prophylaxis of rheumatic fever recurrence with intramuscular benzylpenicillin seems to be the most widely
used therapy in young Italian patients. Its duration may vary from several years to decades. Pain and subsequent
discomfort related to benzylpenicillin administration are poorly detected and addressed in our country.

“We present here a survey in which 49 Italian families participated, with children receiving benzylpenicillin therapy every 3 to 4
weeks. Procedural pain, treatment setting, information and communication emerge as critical issues for families.

“The long course of treatment of these young patients needs to be more explored, reviewed, and likely reorganized, with
the aim of limiting and managing, with every applicable measure, the criticality of pain and supporting proper information and communication, equally important aspects of care.”