{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T17:36:58Z","timestamp":1786988218624,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is an autoimmune disease that develops as a complication of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections and may lead to rheumatic heart disease, particularly in children and young adults in developing countries. With an annual incidence of approximately 10\u201320 per 100,000, Turkey is considered a moderate-to-high risk country. Early diagnosis, treatment, and prophylaxis are crucial in the prevention of ARF and rheumatic heart disease. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge level of first-year medical students (in the basic medical education phase) and sixth-year students (who had completed their clinical clerkships) at Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine during the 2019\u20132020 academic year, in accordance with the American Heart Association guidelines. A total of 165 students (93 first-year and 72 sixth-year) participated in the online survey. The results demonstrated that the knowledge level of sixth-year students was significantly higher compared to first-year students (p\u2009&lt;\u20090.05). These findings highlight the importance of incorporating education on preventable diseases such as ARF into medical curricula.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0354855","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T17:21:56Z","timestamp":1786987316000},"page":"e0354855","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Evaluation of medical students\u2019 awareness regarding acute rheumatic fever"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3941-0176","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ayben","family":"Leblebici","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alaa","family":"Almassri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nazikg\u00fcl","family":"Berdiyeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Motaz Aref Baggash","family":"Al-Hamati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Birsen","family":"U\u00e7ar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]},"reference":[{"issue":"20","key":"pone.0354855.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1806","DOI":"10.1161\/CIR.0000000000000205","article-title":"Revision of the Jones Criteria for the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever in the era of Doppler echocardiography: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association","volume":"131","author":"MH Gewitz","year":"2015","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0354855.ref002","article-title":"2020 ACC\/AHA Guideline for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology\/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines","volume":"143","author":"CM Otto","year":"2021","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"pone.0354855.ref003","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Clinical guidance for acute rheumatic fever. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated July 21, 2025. Accessed August 12, 2025. https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/group-a-strep\/hcp\/clinical-guidance\/acute-rheumatic-fever.html"},{"key":"pone.0354855.ref004","first-page":"6","article-title":"Akut romatizmal ate\u015fte epidemiyoloji.","volume-title":"\u00c7ocukluk \u00c7a\u011f\u0131nda Akut Romatizmal Ate\u015f ve Romatizmal Kalp Hastal\u0131klar\u0131","author":"R Dedeo\u011flu","year":"2020","edition":"1"},{"issue":"11","key":"pone.0354855.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"685","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(05)70267-X","article-title":"The global burden of group A streptococcal diseases","volume":"5","author":"JR Carapetis","year":"2005","journal-title":"Lancet Infect Dis"},{"key":"pone.0354855.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.2147\/CLEP.S12977","article-title":"The worldwide epidemiology of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease","volume":"3","author":"MD Seckeler","year":"2011","journal-title":"Clin Epidemiol"},{"key":"pone.0354855.ref007","volume-title":"WHO guideline on the prevention and diagnosis of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2024"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354855.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2235","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-19658-5","article-title":"Assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of frontline physicians in Egyptian university hospitals regarding pharyngitis and acute rheumatic fever: a cross-sectional study that calls for action","volume":"24","author":"K Abdelsayed","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0354855.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1186\/2046-4053-2-58","article-title":"Health education interventions to raise awareness of rheumatic fever: a systematic review protocol","volume":"2","author":"LS Ramsey","year":"2013","journal-title":"Syst Rev"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0354855.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gheart.2013.08.009","article-title":"The Importance of Awareness and Education in Prevention and Control of RHD","volume":"8","author":"LJ Z\u00fchlke","year":"2013","journal-title":"Glob Heart"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354855.ref011","article-title":"Knowledge and Attitude of Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease Among the Makkah City Population, Saudi Arabia","volume":"16","author":"AY Fakieha","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0354855.ref012","first-page":"37","article-title":"Evaluation of physicians\u2019 knowledge about prevention of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease before and after a teaching session","volume":"15","author":"GM Osman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sudan J Paediatr"},{"issue":"06","key":"pone.0354855.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.4236\/wjcd.2020.106035","article-title":"Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) on Rheumatic Heart Disease among Senior Medical Students in Cameroon","volume":"10","author":"D Chelo","year":"2020","journal-title":"WJCD"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354855","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T17:22:00Z","timestamp":1786987320000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354855"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Rano Mal","family":"Piryani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]},"references-count":13,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354855","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]}}}