title: The effect of colchicine on physical growth in children with familial mediterranean fever.
abstract: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease, characterized by recurrent, self-limited attacks of fever with serositis involving the peritoneum, pleura, and joints. There is very scarce information on physical growth of affected children. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is significant improvement in growth parameters in FMF patients after colchicine treatment. Patient files were retrospectively evaluated and patients that used colchicine for more than 1 year were included in the study. Demographic features, clinical findings before and after colchicine therapy, duration and dosage of therapy, weight, height, parentally adjusted height, and body mass index before and after colchicine therapy were noted and transformed into standard deviation scores (SDS). The study group consisted of 50 FMF (25 male and 25 female) patients. Median age at the time of diagnosis was 6.5 years. Median follow-up period was 3.6 (1-12.5) years. Mean height SDS increased from -0.19 +/- 1.01 to 0.13 +/- 0.99 (p = 0.026), and mean parentally adjusted height increased from -0.18 +/- 1.23 to 0.13 +/- 1.24 (p = 0.027), and both of them were found to be statistically significant. Mean body mass index SDS increased from -0.61 +/- 1.32 to -0.32 +/- 1.33, but this improvement was statistically insignificant (p = 0.18). In this study, we found that colchicine significantly improved height development in FMF patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Nephrology, School of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Z Birsin
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Ozçakar
authors.forename: Gülsüm
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kadioğlu
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Siklar
authors.forename: Asli
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavaz
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nur Aksanal
authors.forename: Merih
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berberoğlu
authors.forename: Mesiha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ekim
authors.forename: Gönül
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ocal
authors.forename: Fatoş
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yalçinkaya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006074:Gout Suppressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006074:Gout Suppressants; D003078:Colchicine