Jaccoud polyarthritis or chronic postrheumatic fever arthritis has been alleged to occur after frequent, prolonged, and severe attacks of rheumatic fever. The existence of such a clinical entity has not been generally accepted by American rheumatologists, and it has been suggested that it may represent a variant of rheumatoid arthritis.
In 1869, Jaccoud1 described the case of a 29-year-old man with bouts of articular rheumatism and carditis. He developed ulnar deviation and flexion at the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints, with extension at the interphalangeal joints. Similar anatomic changes were noted in the feet. These findings were ascribed to fibrosis of periarticular structures rather than to synovial inflammation or destruction.
Bywaters,2 in an extensive review of the literature, identified sporadic cases of a postrheumatic arthropathy similar to that described by Jaccoud and added three cases from his own experience.
Short et al3 believed that a chronic deforming arthritis following