Familial Mediterranean fever in children: a single centre experience in Jordan

Familial Mediterranean fever is quite prevalent among Arabs. We reviewed the files of 56 patients diagnosed with familial Mediterranean fever and followed up at King Hussein Medical Centre in Jordan over 4 years for their clinical profile, course, genotype, treatment and complications. There were 30 males and 26 females with a mean age at onset of 5.2 years. Abdominal pain (79%) was the commonest manifestation, followed by arthritis (13%) and chest pain (4%). Family history was positive in 50% of patients. Regarding treatment, 97% of patients responded well to colchicine, and amyloidosis was not documented in any patients after 5 years follow-up. The commonest genotype was M694 (64%), followed by heterozygous M694V-V726A (23%) and E148Q (8%).