Results
Ten children, six boys and four girls were
included, between the years 2016 and 2018. The
average age of the first consultation was 30.1 ±
15.6 months with an interval between 15 to 66
months, the age of onset of the symptoms was
19.9 ± 16.4 months with a range between 6 to 64
months. The mean duration of fever was 4 ± 1.12
days, and the inter-crisis interval was 21.6 ± 6.9
days (range 11 - 30 days). The clinical
manifestations associated with fever were: in
10/10 in the pharyngitis patients, in 4/10 in oral
aphthae and in 3/10 in cervical lymphadenitis.
Eight patients presented a clinical evolution of
PFAPA and 2 patients presented a positive score
for monogenic PFS, one with a probability of
suffering from hyper IgD syndrome or
mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) and
another with a probability of periodic syndrome
associated with cryopirinopathies (CAPS).
Associated symptoms in these patients were for
MKD abdominal pain and diarrhea, while for
CAPS abdominal pain, vomiting, arthralgia, rash
and ocular symptoms.During the episodes, 2 to 4
doses of oral corticosteroids were required within
24-48 hours, in order to achieve resolution of the
fever. The resolution of the PFS in August 2018
was 4/10, 2 for tonsillectomy (32 months / 43
months) and 2 spontaneously (30 months / 60
months). The rest of the patients continue in
medical control.
Discussion
Recurrent fever is a common reason for
consultation in pediatric practice and can be
caused by a large number of pathologies,
including auto inflammatory conditions
7
. The
benign form of PFS (PFAPA) has characteristics
of a recurrent infection and immune
dysregulation. The physiopathogenesis in these
cases is unknown
8
. In PFS, the innate immune
system plays a critical role through the mediation
of inflammatory responses. Inflammasomes are
part of the regulatory process of this system and
result in the production of interleukin-1B
7,9
. The
dysregulation of the inflammasomes is due to
gene mutations, which express gain of function,
increasing the production of interleukin 1,
producing periodic systemic inflammation
10
.In
the series analyzed it is clear that the PFS mostly
corresponds to the PFAPA syndrome.
Conclusions
PFSs are infrequent and should be considered in
the differential diagnosis the PFAPA and
autoinflammatory syndromes.
The essential symptom for diagnosis is the
presence of fever and in most patients it is
associated with pharyngitis.
PFSs are caused by the innate dysregulation of
the immune system. Each of the PFS requires an
individual diagnosis and a particular therapeutic
approach.
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