Familial Mediterranean fever, a study of 32 cases

From April 1983 to September 1990, 32 patients with familial mediterranean fever [FMF] were studied. FMF is characterized by short, self-limited, febrile episodes that occur with inflammation of serosal surfaces. Major symptoms include fever and abdominal pain, presenting as acute surgical abdomen. These attacks are associated with considerable morbidity and in some patients lead to unnecessary surgery. Diagnosis of this disease depends on the absence of any objective markers and the recognition of the symptoms in a susceptible individual. Duration of disease on admission was 1.5-19 years. Except in two pairs of siblings, no familial association was noted. This is the first review of the cases of FMF from Iran