Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Fiji: prospective surveillance, 2005–2008

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DOI: 10.21522/TIJNR.2015.02.01.Art015

Authors : Ranjana Prabhu

Abstract:

The following review is an attempt to critically analyses the article ‘Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Fiji: prospective surveillance, 2005–2007’ first published in the Medical Journal of Australia in 2009. The article is by local Fijian authors and highly relevant as acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) contribute highly to the burden of disease in Fiji. The mentioned diseases also contribute greatly to admission numbers and mortality in third world countries like Fiji and are always regarded as areas of special interest as these diseases are virtually extinct in developed countries with NZ and Australia being exceptions. A thorough summary of the article will be provided and this will be followed by analysis of the article’s structure with critique of how the information is set out and whether the findings are efficiently imparted to the interested reader. The review also sets to critique the content mainly with regards to accuracy, objectivity, general coverage and evaluation of its authority. It also explores the author credibility and their insights into the need for such a research. Overall, the topic was a well-chosen one and the article itself is well written, concise and extremely relevant. 

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