Gastrointestinal evaluation in colchicine-treated familial Mediterranean fever patients with chronic abdominal pain: Cases series

Abstract

The aim of the study to evaluate familial mediterranean fever (FMF) patients with chronic abdominal pain unresponsive to colchicine treatment. Forty-eight patients who diagnosed in our Pediatric Rheumatology clinics and suffering from abdominal pain despite colchicine treatment were include. All patients were referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist. The pain characteristics such as onset, duration and frequency were recorded; gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy was planned for differential diagnosis. MEFV mutation was determined in 46 patients. The median duration of treatment was 2.8 years. Approximately 60% of the patients suffered from abdominal pain every day or 2-3 times a week, in 73% of the cases it lasted less than three hours. Forty one patients underwent upper GI endoscopy. Gastroduodenitis is a common finding in persisting abdominal pain despite therapy of FMF patients. The patients with the highest disease severity scores had severe inflammation within the entire GI system.