“…Heart block was present in four (23.5%) patients 6,10,11 and left ventricular hypertrophy or dilation in seven (41.2%) patients. 6,16,17,19,21 HLA-B27 was positive in six (35.3%), 6,19,21,23,27,28 negative in one (5.9%), 24 and untested in 10 (58.8%) patients, respectively. Preoperative C-reactive protein concentration was 39.1 6 83.1 (range 1-227) mg/dL (n 5 7), and the postoperative value decreased to 0.15 mg/dL.…”