Objective.: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease. The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) 2012, and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/ACR 2019 SLE classification criteria are formed based on data mainly from adult patients. We aimed to test the performances of the SLE classification criteria among pediatric patients with SLE.Methods.: Pediatric patients with SLE (n = 262; 80.9% female) were included from 3 different centers in Turkey. As controls, 174 children (60.9% female) with other diseases who had ANA (antinuclear antibody) test results were included. The gold standard for SLE diagnosis was expert opinion.Results.: The sensitivities of the ACR 1997, SLICC 2012, and EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria were 68.7%, 95.4%, and 91.6%, respectively. The specificities of the ACR 1997, SLICC 2012, and EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria were 94.8%, 89.7%, and 88.5%, respectively. Eighteen patients with SLE met the SLICC 2012 but not the EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria. Among these, hematologic involvement was prominent (n = 13; 72.2%). Eight patients with SLE fulfilled the EULAR/ACR 2019 but not the SLICC 2012 criteria. Among these, joint involvement was prominent (n = 6; 75%).Conclusion.: To our knowledge, this is the largest cohort study of pediatric SLE to test the performances of all 3 classification criteria. The SLICC 2012 criteria yielded the best sensitivity, whereas the ACR 1997 criteria had the best specificity. SLICC 2012 criteria performed better than EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria. Separation of different hematological manifestations in the SLICC 2012 criteria might have contributed to the higher performance of this criteria set.
Objectives: Colchicine is the fundamental treatment of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Still, 5–10% of patients are not in remission with colchicine treatment. A consensus could not be established for the definition of colchicine resistance in FMF. This study aimed to determine factors that help to predict colchicine resistance in pediatric FMF patients. Methods: Patients with FMF that age of diagnosis was under 18 years old were included in our study. Fifty colchicine responsive and 33 colchicine-resistant patients were stratified as groups 1 and 2, respectively. Patients’ clinical and laboratory findings were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors of colchicine-resistant FMF. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify and compare the predictive performances of colchicine-resistant FMF models. Results: Homozygous exon 10 MEFV mutations were frequent in group 2 (Group 1: 34 (68%), group 2: 32 (97%), p = .013). Univariate analysis showed that the age of onset of symptoms, age of diagnosis, chronic arthritis, myalgia and diarrhea during attacks, and the number of attacks, high ISSF and Pras score, high C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) values under colchicine treatment were risk factors for colchicine-resistant FMF. With multivariate analysis, the number of attacks (OR 1.418, CI (95%) 1.149–1.750, p = .001) and high ESR values (OR 1.129, CI (95%) 1.059–1.204, p<.001) were detected as independent risk factors for colchicine-resistant FMF. Conclusion: The predictive factors were determined for pediatric colchicine-resistant FMF in our study. The results will help to early diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammation in FMF.
12 June 2020 in JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology
Background/Objectives: Chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO) is an inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent attacks and remissions due to sterile bone inflammation. The CNO may be accompanied by various inflammatory diseases. The aims of our study were to determine the clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of children with CNO, and to investigate the possible effect of concomitant diseases on the course of CNO. Methods: Twenty-three patients who were diagnosed with CNO between 2012 and 2019 were analyzed. Demographic characteristics, clinical courses, laboratory and imaging findings, and concomitant diseases were recorded. The characteristics of the CNO patients with and without concomitant diseases were compared. Results: The mean ± SD age of patients at the time of diagnosis and the last follow-up was 10.46 ± 4.1 and 12.47 ± 4.47 years, respectively. The median (range) time interval between disease onset and diagnosis was 5.33 (1–55) months. The mean ± SD duration of disease was 24.71 ± 16.76 months. Twelve patients (52.2%) were male. The most commonly affected areas were femur (74%), tibia/fibula (74%), and pelvis (52.2%). Age at symptom onset, age at diagnosis, mean number of lesions, presence of sacroiliitis, acute phase reactants at the start of disease, clinical and radiological remission rates, and treatment responses were not significantly different between the 13 patients with concomitant diseases and those without. Eight patients (34.8%) had familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), and all of them had exon 10 mutations. Four patients (17.4%) had juvenile spondylarthritis, one had inflammatory bowel disease, and one had psoriatic arthritis as concomitant diseases. Clinical remission was achieved in 19 patients (82.6%) and complete remission in 11 patients (47.8%) at the time of follow-up. Conclusions: In our cohort, half of the patients with CNO had concomitant diseases, with FMF being the most common. We think that the coexistence of FMF and CNO is not a coincidental one and that both may result due to an abnormality of a common pathogenetic pathway.
25 April 2021 in The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics
Background. Granulomatous autoinflammatory diseases are monogenic syndromes caused by mutations in the region encoding the nucleotide-binding domain of the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing 2 gene. Blau syndrome and early-onset sarcoidosis are familial and sporadic forms of the same disease and are very rare. Many organ systems may be involved; however, neurologic involvement is infrequent. We reported a case of encephalitis in a 12-year-old girl followed with a diagnosis of early-onset sarcoidosis. Case. The patient was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis at 3 years of age. We considered druginduced sarcoidosis at 6 years of age with granulomatous inflammation of liver and kidney. Small joint involvement and camptodactyly developed during follow-up. M315T mutation was detected in the NOD2 gene supporting the diagnosis of early-onset sarcoidosis. The patient suffered from encephalopathy when she was under methotrexate, infliximab, and systemic steroid treatment at 12 years of age. Cerebrospinal fluid limbic encephalitis antibody panel was negative. Conclusion. Encephalopathy is not common in Blau syndrome and early-onset sarcoidosis. The cause of encephalopathy in our patient was interpreted as autoimmune encephalitis.
1 January 2019 in Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) encompasses a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of rare inherited diseases characterized by marked mechanical fragility of epithelial tissues with blistering and erosions following minor trauma. Amyloidosis is one of the most important complications of EB mostly seen in recessive dystrophic EB (RDEB) patients and can involve the kidney, bowel, liver, and also respiratory system. Herein, we present a child, who is probably the youngest case of genetically diagnosed RDEB, complicated with amyloidosis reported in literature. A 6-year-old boy who was diagnosed with EB was referred to our center with nephrotic-range proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia. He had homozygous mutation in COL7A1 gene. Kidney biopsy was remarkable for amyloidosis with positive Congo red staining, and amyloid fibrils were seen on electron microscopy. Although he did not have any symptoms of autoimmune diseases and mutation in the MEFV gene, he was given colchicine because of positive family history for familial Mediterranean fever and amyloidosis.