Monthly Penicillin Injections Advised in Rheumatic Fever

As prophylaxis against recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever, monthly injections of benzathine penicillin were found to be more effective than faithfully maintained daily orally administered agents, Alvan R. Feinstein, MD, New Haven, Conn., reported at the American Heart Association meeting in Atlantic City, NJ. Feinstein said the project was conducted in the Irvington House Rheumatic Fever Prophylaxis Research Clinic, New York. Patients eligible for this study were between 5 and 16 years of age, and had all had recent, unequivocal episodes of acute rheumatic fever no longer than three years prior to admission to the study. In the study, the two groups were comparable in age and cardiac status and length of time elapsed since the last rheumatic attack. One group was assigned to prophylaxis with monthly injections of benzathine penicillin, 1.2 million units; the other group received orally administered potassium penicillin G in therapeutic dosage, 400,000 units three times