Protracted febrile myalgia syndrome treated with pulse of corticosteroids

Eran Rom, Gil Amarilyo, Yoel Levinski, Efraim Bilavsky, Ori Goldberg, Jacob Amir, Liora Harel*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: This study describes our 5-year experience treating protracted febrile myalgia syndrome (PFMS) with pulsed doses of corticosteroids. Methods: Eight patients with PFMS who received pulse corticosteroid therapy were identified from the electronic database of a tertiary pediatric medical center (2011–2016). Their clinical and laboratory data were collected. Differences in continuous variables between hospital admission and discharge were analyzed using Wilcoxon's matched pairs test. Results: There were 6 female and 2 male patients of median age 10.45 years (range 6.2–17.1) Six patients were found to be homozygous for the M694V mutation. In 4 patients, PFMS was the first-ever manifestation of familial Mediterranean fever. Pulse corticosteroid therapy was administered at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 3 days. Pain was alleviated (visual analog scale score, 0) within hours of initiation of therapy, although pain flare-ups lasting for minutes to hours were still observed during hospitalization. At discharge, all patients were prescribed continuous oral corticosteroids (1–2 mg/kg) with gradual tapering down over 6 weeks. Conclusion: Pulse corticosteroid therapy is effective in alleviating PFMS pain; however, it does not completely abort a PFMS episode.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)897-899
Number of pages3
JournalSeminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism
Volume47
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2018

Keywords

  • Corticosteroid
  • Familial Mediterranean fever
  • Protracted febrile myalgia
  • Solumedrol

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