Familial Mediterranean fever in children: the expanded clinical profile

QJM. 1999 Jun;92(6):309-18. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/92.6.309.

Abstract

The clinical picture of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) has been appreciably expanded in the last 10 years. Over 8 years, we studied the expanded clinical profile of FMF in 476 children. Of these, 81% had abdominal pain, 41% chest pain, 42% arthritis, 12% severe myalgia, 12% skin manifestations, 4% scrotal swelling, 3% recurrent episodic fever, and one child (0.2%) developed recurrent hyperbilirubinaemia. Two (0.4%) children developed renal complications which were reversed by colchicine; however of 19 probands, 36 family members suffered from chronic renal failure. Our study indicates a familial predisposition to nephropathy in certain families with FMF. This study is the first to report the expanded clinical profile of FMF in a large group of Arab children, giving an opportunity to compare the findings with those in children with FMF in other ethnic groups, and to help in the study of genotype-phenotype correlation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Pain / etiology
  • Age of Onset
  • Amyloidosis / etiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Ethnicity
  • Familial Mediterranean Fever / complications
  • Familial Mediterranean Fever / diagnosis*
  • Familial Mediterranean Fever / ethnology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin D / analysis
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Jordan
  • Male
  • Pedigree
  • Prevalence

Substances

  • Immunoglobulin D