title: Liver involvement in children with Familial Mediterranean fever.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Familial Mediterranean fever is characterised by recurrent, febrile, inflammatory attacks of the serosal membranes. Prolonged inflammatory response is triggered secondary to cytokine stimulation due to reduced activity of pyrin. Inflammatory cytokines play major role in the pathogenesis of acute liver injury; and chronic, recurrent cytokine production may cause chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis. We aimed to analyse liver involvement in children with Familial Mediterranean fever.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 58 patients with Familial Mediterranean fever. Patients with liver involvement were examined in detail.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Liver involvement was seen in 11 of 58 patients (18.9%). Two patients (3.4%) had abnormal liver enzymes during the diagnostic evaluation, whilst 9 patients (15.5%) were admitted with the features of liver diseases, and had final diagnosis of Familial Mediterranean fever (2 had Budd-Chiari syndrome, 5 had chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis, 2 had acute hepatitis). None of the demographic factors or laboratory findings was different between the patients with or without liver involvement M694V allele was more common in patients with liver involvement but did not reach significant difference (50% vs. 33.6%, p=0.21). All the patients showed clinical and laboratory improvement after colchicine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Paediatric hepatologists must keep Familial Mediterranean fever in mind in the patients with cryptogenic hepatitis/cirrhosis especially in regions where hereditary inflammatory diseases are common.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Dörtçelik Pediatric Hospital, Bursa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cakir
authors.forename: Masallah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baran
authors.forename: Cigdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arıkan
authors.forename: Hasan Ali
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Yuksekkaya
authors.forename: Sema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aydoğdu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D006502:Budd-Chiari Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003078:Colchicine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006074:Gout Suppressants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006074:Gout Suppressants; D005723:gamma-Glutamyltransferase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase; D003078:Colchicine