- Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and adenitis
Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is a medical condition, typically starting in young children, in which high
fever occurs periodically at intervals of about 3-5 weeks, frequently accompanied byaphthous ulcer s,pharyngitis and/oradenitis . The syndrome was described in1987 and named two years later.cite journal
last = Thomas
first = Kenneth Tyson
authorlink =
coauthors = Feder, Lawton, Edwards
title = Periodic fever syndrome in children
journal =Journal of Pediatrics
volume = 135
issue =
pages = 1–5
publisher = Mosby, Inc.
location =
date = 1999
url = http://padeh.net/Edwards.htm
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2008-03-07]igns and symptoms
The key symptoms of PFAPA are those in its name: periodic high
fever at intervals of about 3-5 weeks, as well asaphthous ulcer s,pharyngitis and/oradenitis . In between episodes, and even during the episodes, the children appear healthy. At leat 6 months of episodes. Recurrent negative throat cultures. Other causes excluded (EBV, CMV, FMF).cite journal
last = Long
first = Sarah S.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Syndrome of Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and Adenitis (PFAPA) - What it isn't. What is it?
journal =Journal of Pediatrics
volume = 135
issue =
pages = 1–5
publisher = Mosby, Inc.
location =
date = 1999
url = http://padeh.net/Long.htm
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2008-03-07]Cause
PFAPA is frequently discussed together with other
periodic fever syndrome s, but it is unknown whether the cause is primarilygene tic or due to an initialinfection .Treatment
A possible treatment for PFAPA is a single dose of
prednisone (1-2 mg per kg body mass) at the beginning of each fever episode. The single dose usually terminates the fever within several hours. However, in some children, prednisone causes the fever episodes to occur more frequently (and more regularly) then consider Colchicine like in FMF. Consider tonsillectomy in sever cases.Prognosis
According to present research, PFAPA does not lead to other diseases and spontaneously resolves as the child gets older, with no long term effects.cite journal
last = Padeh
first = Shai
authorlink =
coauthors = (eight others)
title = Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and adenopathy syndrome: Clinical characteristics and outcome
journal =Journal of Pediatrics
volume = 135
issue =
pages = 98–101
publisher = Mosby, Inc.
location =
date = 1999
url = http://padeh.net/Jpedpfapa.htm
doi =
id =
accessdate = 2008-03-07]References
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