Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and Adenitis Syndrome: A Single-Center Experience

Objective: The purpose of this study is to share our experience about clinical findings, natural course, and treatment response rates of a large cohort of patients with periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome

Performance of recently proposed periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome criteria in a region endemic for familial Mediterranean fever

The periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is an auto-inflammatory condition characterized by recurrent episodes of fever accompanied by aphthosis, cervical adenitis, and pharyngitis. Diagnosis of PFAPA could be challenging due to clinic overlap with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). An international consensus has been established recently, to define a new set of classification criteria for PFAPA syndrome. We aimed to evaluate the performance of recently proposed PFAPA criteria, to assess their utility in FMF regions. Patients diagnosed with PFAPA syndrome, FMF, and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) were included. Two investigators blindly evaluated all of patients for the newly proposed PFAPA criteria. A total of 542 patients (322 with PFAPA syndrome, 118 FMF and 102 JIA) were evaluated. Mean age of patients was 6.6 +/- 2.81, 12.75 +/- 3.9, and 12.42 +/- 4.8 years for PFAPA, FMF, and JIA, respectively. We found quite high sensitivity (89.7%) but insufficient specificity of newly proposed PFAPA criteria (69.5%). When applied to control patients separately, specificity was found to be 61% and 79.4% for FMF and JIA patients, respectively. Positive predictive value was 81%, while negative predictive value was 82%. Recently proposed PFAPA criteria have satisfactory sensitivity, but its specificity is still under expectation. There is a need for a distinctive criterion between PFAPA syndrome and FMF, in FMF endemic regions, e.g., cryptic tonsillitis rapidly responsive to single dose of glucocorticoids. Further studies with higher patients' number in different regions are needed

The role of Mediterranean fever gene variants in patients with periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis syndrome

© 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between clinic features and Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) variants in patients with periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome. In total, 167 patients with PFAPA syndrome were included in the study. Female:male ratio of the patients was 0.75 (72 females, 95 males). In total 59.9% of patients with PFAPA had at least one MEFV variant and the most common heterozygous variants were M694V in 29.3% of the patients (40/167), E148Q in 8.3% (14/167), and V726A in 7.1% (12/167). The median age at the disease onset was significantly higher and the median duration of the episodes was significantly lower in patient with variants in exon 10 comparing to the others (both p = 0.01). Similarly, the median age at the disease onset was significantly higher (p = 0.01) and the median duration of the episodes was significantly lower (p = 0.04) in patient with MEFV variants than in the remaining patients. There were no significant differences according to the genotypes of the patients in terms of both treatment response and the frequency of clinical findings. Conclusion: In PFAPA syndrome, MEFV variants may be a modifier for disease onset and attack duration.What is Known:• Due to periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome having clinical findings resembling familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), it can be difficult to distinguish PFAPA syndrome and FMF especially in endemic regions for FMF.• Underlying MEFV mutations could affect the periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis(PFAPA) syndrome’s clinical presentation and response to treatment.What is New:• Having one of the underlying MEFV variants is related to later disease onset and shorter episode duration in patients with PFAPA syndrome

Independent risk factors for resolution of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis syndrome within 4 years after the disease onset

© 2020, International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR).Background/Objective: Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is a polygenic disease with unknown etiology. In this retrospective cohort study, we aimed to evaluate the risk factors for the resolution of PFAPA syndrome within 4 years after the onset. Methods: In total, 466 patients with PFAPA syndrome that are being followed up our department were included into the study. Between May 2020 and September 2020, medical charts of the patients were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The median age of the patients at the time of the study and at disease onset were 8.6 (2.9–20.5; IQR 6.9–10.6) years and 18 (1–84; IQR 11-31) months. On univariate analysis age at disease onset (p = 0.003), positive family history of PFAPA syndrome (p = 0.04), absence of myalgia (p = 0.04), and absence of headache (p = 0.003) were all associated with the resolution of PFAPA syndrome within 4 years after the onset. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age at disease onset (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07, p = 0.002), positive family history of PFAPA syndrome (OR 2.69, 95% CI 1.12–6.48, p = 0.02), and absence of headache (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.05–0.74, p = 0.01) were independent risk factors for the resolution of PFAPA syndrome within 4 years after the onset. Conclusion: We report later age of disease onset, positive family history of PFAPA syndrome, and absence of headache as independent risk factors for resolution of PFAPA syndrome within 4 years after the onset.Key points:• Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is a multifactorial disease with unknown etiology.• Although, PFAPA syndrome usually resolves within 3–5 years after the disease onset, it can persist for years and even continue into adulthood. With our current knowledge, there is no clue to predict which patients will have a long disease course and which patients will not.• Later age of disease onset, positive family history of PFAPA syndrome and absence of headache as independent risk factors for resolution of PFAPA syndrome within 4 years after the onset