Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia, 2015–2019

Record linkage key

A unique code that enables two or more records belonging to the same individual to be brought together.

Date of birth

The date of birth of the case.

Sex

The biological distinction between male and female, as represented by a code.

Indigenous status

Whether a case identifies as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.

Non-Indigenous target group

A case's membership of specific ethnic or regional origin groups that are identified as high risk groups in guidelines for priority screening and treatment for acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australian primary health care settings.

Date of death

The date of death of the case.

Jurisdiction

The state or territory which first diagnosed/notified the episode.

Region of management

The location of health services in a defined geographic or administrative area where the case is being managed.

Notification date

The date that a health professional notified an incident case of a disease to the relevant jurisdictional authority. In the NT, the date of diagnosis is provided to the register instead of the notification date.

Region at ARF notification

The location of health services in a defined geographic or administrative area where the case was diagnosed.

Recurrence status

Whether an episode of ARF for a given case is the first known episode or a recurrence.

Confirmation status

The confirmation status of an incident case of ARF.

Detection method

How an incident case of a disease is notified to the jurisdictional registers.

RHD diagnosis date

The date on which a case was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease.

Prophylaxis prescribed date

The date on which a case is prescribed prophylactic treatment.

Prophylaxis prescription end date

The date on which a health professional recommends that prophylactic antibiotics are no longer required.

Antibiotic agent

The antibiotic agent prescribed to a case for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever.

Frequency of IM antibiotic treatment

The prescribed frequency of intramuscular antibiotic treatment to be administered to a case.

Antibiotic administration date

The date of administration of intramuscular antibiotic to a case for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever.

RHD surgical procedure date

The date of surgery for repair or replacement of heart valve(s) in treatment of rheumatic heart disease.

Heart valve identifier

The particular heart valve repaired or replaced in surgery for treatment of rheumatic heart disease.

RHD surgical procedure date

The date of surgery for repair or replacement of heart valve(s) in treatment of rheumatic heart disease.