Objective: To estimate the burden of group A streptococcal pharyngitis (GAS) pharyngitis, rheumatic fever (RF), and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in India using existing data sources, as well as to recognize the most serious gaps in GAS disease burden data.
Methods: Four electronic databases-PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science were searched using a comprehensive search strategy. Data were identified primarily from observational studies including school surveys, community-based and hospital-based studies. The standard methodological procedures as per Cochrane guidelines were used. Eligible studies were pooled for estimating prevalence, incidence, and case fatality rate using R software version 3.3.3. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO; registration number CRD42018075742.
Results: The pooled prevalence of GAS pharyngitis among asymptomatic children and pharyngitis cases aged 5 to 15 y was estimated as 2.79 percent [95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.58-4.89] and 13 percent (95% CI: 3.18-41.97), respectively. The prevalence rate of rheumatic fever was found to be 0.04% (95% CI: 0.01-0.17). The pooled prevalence rate of RHD among children aged 5-15 y using clinical auscultation and echocardiography was estimated as 0.36 percent (95% CI: 0.02-7.52) and 0.28 percent (95% CI: 0.08-1.03), respectively.
Conclusion: The study emphasizes the importance of developing a population-based surveillance framework to track patterns, management strategies, and outcomes in order to develop informed recommendations for launching contextual measures to regulate RF and RHD.
Keywords: Burden; GAS pharyngitis; Prevalence; Rheumatic fever; Rheumatic heart disease.
© 2021. Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation.