Sallansonnet E, Gualtieri R, Margot H, Mejbri M, Posfay-Barbe K , et al.
Pediatric rheumatology online journal •
PFAPA syndrome (Periodic Fever, Aphthous Stomatitis, Pharyngitis, and Adenitis) is the most common periodic fever condition in children. Vaccination in this population can be challenging due to concerns about immune hyperreactivity, the potential to trigger febrile episodes, and uncertainty regarding vaccine efficacy. Data on immunization coverage and vaccine response in PFAPA remain limited. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of children with PFAPA, with a particular focus on vaccination coverage and serological responses. We conducted a prospective study of children with PFAPA followed at Geneva University Hospitals between February 2022 and April 2025. Clinical, laboratory, and genetic data were collected, along with vaccination status according to the Swiss national immunization schedule and serological results for major vaccine antigens. Forty-one patients were included. All exhibited elevated inflammatory markers during febrile episodes, and none had a monogenic cause identified. Vaccination coverage was high, with 90–95% of patients receiving the primary DTaP-IPV-Hib-HBV series on time. Minor delays were observed for the third pneumococcal and second MMR doses. Meningococcal (MenC/MenACWY) vaccination was administered on time in 58% of patients. Serological testing confirmed protective antibody levels for most antigens, including diphtheria, tetanus, and measles, but only 40% achieved protective pneumococcal titers. Only 65% showed varicella immunity because of past infection, as none had received the vaccine, which was only introduced in Switzerland in 2023. Children with PFAPA demonstrate high adherence to vaccination schedules and adequate immune responses, supporting the safety and effectiveness of routine immunization in this group. The reduced pneumococcal seroprotection suggests that monitoring antibody levels and considering booster doses may be warranted. Larger controlled studies are needed to assess vaccine immunogenicity and reactogenicity, particularly for highly reactogenic vaccines such as meningococcal B.
Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is characterized by recurrent fever flares accompanied by symptoms and signs forming the disease acronym and alternating with asymptomatic periods. Despite the disease having a generally favorable outcome, with spontaneous remission after a few years, it does have a major impact on the quality of life of the child and his or her relatives. Beside symptomatic medications during fever flares, the most used treatment consists of a single dose of corticosteroids at flare onset to interrupt the attack; fever resolves usually within a few hours, but often with a shorter interval between the attacks. For these patients, colchicine has been shown to decrease the frequency of the flares. Other medications were also reported in case series of patients with PFAPA syndrome. These include the interleukin-1 blocker anakinra to treat flares, cimetidine (which showed no convincing effect), and other drugs with anecdotal use. The pediatrician faces a difficult question: should they wait for spontaneous disease resolution and only treat the flares medically, or should they propose tonsillectomy that may induce remission? Due to the lack of strong evidence, the answer will vary on an individual basis, depending on the impact on the patient's quality of life. The choice of the best therapeutic strategy will be based on the response to the flare-based therapy and on disease severity (quality of life, school performances); long-term data on the remission rate under the different therapeutic strategies are currently missing. More randomized controlled studies are needed to help the treating physician to choose the best therapy, as well as real-life long-term data to evaluate the long-term outcome of children with PFAPA syndrome.
Theodoropoulou K, Wittkowski H, Busso N, Von Scheven-Gête A, Moix I , et al.
Frontiers in immunology •
The inflammasome has been recognized as one of the key components of innate immunity. Gain-of-function mutations in the exon 3 of gene have been implicated in inflammatory diseases suggesting the presence of functionally important sites in this region. Q703K (c.2107C>A, p.Gln703Lys, also known in the literature as Q705K) is a common variant of , that has been considered to be both clinically unremarkable or disease-causing with a reduced penetrance. We aimed to investigate the potential genetic impact of the variant Q703K in patients with recurrent fever presenting with two autoinflammatory diseases: PFAPA (periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis) and CAPS (cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome), as well as with undefined autoinflammatory disease (uAID). This is an international multicentric observational retrospective study characterizing the clinical phenotype of patients presenting with recurrent fever suspected to be of auto-inflammatory origin and where the Q703K variant was found. Monocytes of parents of 6 Q703K+ PFAPA patients were studied and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by monocytes of Q703K+ and Q703K- parents have been compared by ELISA. We report 42 patients with the Q703K genetic variant: 21 were PFAPA patients, 6 had a CAPS phenotype, and 15 had an uAID. The phenotypes of PFAPA, CAPS and uAID were quite similar between Q703K positive and negative patients with the exception of increased prevalence of pharyngitis in the Q703K positive CAPS population compared to the negative one. The production of IL-1β was not significantly different between Q703K+ and Q703K- monocytes from asymptomatic parents. The evidence we report in our study shows an increased prevalence of Q703K in patients with autoinflammatory diseases, suggesting an association between the Q703K variant and the risk of PFAPA, CAPS and uAID syndromes. However, we did not show a functional effect of this mutation on the inflammasome basal activity.
Vanoni F, Caorsi R, Aeby S, Cochard M, Antón J , et al.
Pediatric rheumatology online journal •
Diagnosis of Periodic Fever, Aphthous stomatitis, Pharyngitis and Cervical Adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is currently based on the modified Marshall's criteria, but no validated evidence based classification criteria for PFAPA has been established so far. A multistep process, based on the Delphi and Nominal Group Technique was conducted. After 2 rounds of e-mail Delphi survey involving 21 experts in autoinflammation we obtained a list of variables that were discussed in an International Consensus Conference. Variables reaching the 80% of consensus between participants were included in the new classification criteria. In the second phase the new classification criteria and the modified Marshall's criteria were applied on a cohort of 80 pediatric PFAPA patients to compare their performance. The Delphi Survey was sent to 22 participants, 21 accepted to participate. Thirty variables were obtained from the survey and have been discussed at the Consensus Conference. Through the Nominal Group Technique we obtained a new set of classification criteria. These criteria were more restrictive in respect to the modified Marshall's criteria when applied on our cohort of patients. Our work led us to identify a new set of classification criteria for PFAPA syndrome, but they resulted to be too restrictive to be applied in daily clinical practice for the diagnosis of PFAPA.
Vanoni F, Federici S, Antón J, Barron KS, Brogan P , et al.
Pediatric rheumatology online journal •
Diagnosis of Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) is currently based on a set of criteria proposed in 1999 modified from Marshall's criteria. Nevertheless no validated evidence based set of classification criteria for PFAPA has been established so far. The aim of this study was to identify candidate classification criteria PFAPA syndrome using international consensus formation through a Delphi questionnaire survey. A first open-ended questionnaire was sent to adult and pediatric clinicians/researchers, asking to identify the variables thought most likely to be helpful and relevant for the diagnosis of PFAPA. In a second survey, respondents were asked to select, from the list of variables coming from the first survey, the 10 features that they felt were most important, and to rank them in descending order from most important to least important. The response rate to the first and second Delphi was respectively 109/124 (88%) and 141/162 (87%). The number of participants that completed the first and second Delphi was 69/124 (56%) and 110/162 (68%). From the first Delphi we obtained a list of 92 variables, of which 62 were selected in the second Delphi. Variables reaching the top five position of the rank were regular periodicity, aphthous stomatitis, response to corticosteroids, cervical adenitis, and well-being between flares. Our process led to identification of features that were felt to be the most important as candidate classification criteria for PFAPA by a large sample of international rheumatologists. The performance of these items will be tested further in the next phase of the study, through analysis of real patient data.
Cheung MS, Theodoropoulou K, Lugrin J, Martinon F, Busso N , et al.
Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) •
Periodic fever with aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis (PFAPA) is a relatively common autoinflammatory condition that primarily affects children. Although tendencies were reported for this syndrome, genetic variations influencing risk and disease progression are poorly understood. In this study, we performed next-generation sequencing for 82 unrelated PFAPA patients and identified a frameshift variant in the gene (CARD8-FS). Subsequently, we compared the frequency of CARD8-FS carriers in our PFAPA cohort (13.9%) with a healthy local population group (3.2%) and found a significant association between the CARD8-FS polymorphism and risk for PFAPA syndrome ( = 0.012; odds ratio: 4.96 [95% confidence interval, 1.33-18.47]). Moreover, CARD8-FS carriers display a distinct PFAPA phenotype that is characterized by a higher prevalence of symptoms out of flares and oral aphthosis (both = 0.02 compared with PFAPA patients without the frameshift variant). CARD8 encodes a protein component of the NLRP3 inflammasome, which plays an important role in inflammation and contributes to the pathology of various autoinflammatory diseases. We found that the CARD8-FS variant led to a truncated CARD8 protein lacking the FIIND and CARD domains. As a result, the mutant CARD8 protein lost the ability to interact with the NOD domain of NLRP3. In summary, these results identify a new CARD8 variant associated with PFAPA and further suggest that disruption of the interaction between CARD8 and NLRP3 can regulate autoinflammation in patients.
The syndrome of periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and cervical adenitis (PFAPA syndrome) is the most common cause of periodic fever in childhood. The current pharmacological treatment includes corticosteroids, which usually are efficacious in the management of fever episodes, colchicine, for the prophylaxis of febrile episodes, and other medication for which efficacy has not been proven so far. Tonsillectomy is an option for selected patients. Usually PFAPA syndrome resolves during adolescence, but there is increasing evidence that this condition may persist into adulthood.
Di Gioia SA, Bedoni N, von Scheven-Gête A, Vanoni F, Superti-Furga A , et al.
Scientific reports •
PFAPA syndrome is the most common autoinflammatory syndrome in children from Western countries. In spite of its strong familial clustering, its genetic basis and inheritance pattern are still unknown. We performed a comprehensive genetic study on 68 individuals from 14 families. Linkage analysis suggested a susceptibility locus on chromosome 8, but direct molecular sequencing did not support this initial statistical finding. Exome sequencing revealed the absence of any gene that was mutated in all patients. Exhaustive screening of genes involved in other autoinflammatory syndromes or encoding components of the human inflammasome showed no DNA variants that could be linked to PFAPA molecular pathology. Among these, the previously-reported missense mutation V198M in the NLRP3 gene was clearly shown not to co-segregate with PFAPA. Our results on this relatively large cohort indicate that PFAPA syndrome is unlikely to be a monogenic condition. Moreover, none of the several genes known to be involved in inflammation or in autoinflammatory disorders seem to be relevant, alone, to its etiology, suggesting that PFAPA results from oligogenic or complex inheritance of variants in multiple disease genes and/or non-genetic factors.
Federici S, Sormani MP, Ozen S, Lachmann HJ, Amaryan G , et al.
Annals of the rheumatic diseases •
The objective of this work was to develop and validate a set of clinical criteria for the classification of patients affected by periodic fevers. Patients with inherited periodic fevers (familial Mediterranean fever (FMF); mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD); tumour necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome (TRAPS); cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS)) enrolled in the Eurofever Registry up until March 2013 were evaluated. Patients with periodic fever, aphthosis, pharyngitis and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome were used as negative controls. For each genetic disease, patients were considered to be 'gold standard' on the basis of the presence of a confirmatory genetic analysis. Clinical criteria were formulated on the basis of univariate and multivariate analysis in an initial group of patients (training set) and validated in an independent set of patients (validation set). A total of 1215 consecutive patients with periodic fevers were identified, and 518 gold standard patients (291 FMF, 74 MKD, 86 TRAPS, 67 CAPS) and 199 patients with PFAPA as disease controls were evaluated. The univariate and multivariate analyses identified a number of clinical variables that correlated independently with each disease, and four provisional classification scores were created. Cut-off values of the classification scores were chosen using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis as those giving the highest sensitivity and specificity. The classification scores were then tested in an independent set of patients (validation set) with an area under the curve of 0.98 for FMF, 0.95 for TRAPS, 0.96 for MKD, and 0.99 for CAPS. In conclusion, evidence-based provisional clinical criteria with high sensitivity and specificity for the clinical classification of patients with inherited periodic fevers have been developed.
Kolly L, Busso N, von Scheven-Gete A, Bagnoud N, Moix I , et al.
The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology •
The exact pathogenesis of the pediatric disorder periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, cervical adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome is unknown. We hypothesized that PFAPA might be due to dysregulated monocyte IL-1β production linked to genetic variants in proinflammatory genes. Fifteen patients with PFAPA syndrome were studied during and outside a febrile episode. Hematologic profile, inflammatory markers, and cytokine levels were measured in the blood. The capacity of LPS-stimulated PBMCs and monocytes to secrete IL-1β was assessed by using ELISA, and active IL-1β secretion was visualized by means of Western blotting. Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to assess cytokine gene expression. DNA was screened for variants of the MEFV, TNFRSF1A, MVK, and NLRP3 genes in a total of 57 patients with PFAPA syndrome. During a febrile attack, patients with PFAPA syndrome revealed significantly increased neutrophil counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, myeloid-related protein 8/14, and S100A12 levels compared with those seen outside attacks. Stimulated PBMCs secreted significantly more IL-1β during an attack (during a febrile episode, 575 ± 88 pg/mL; outside a febrile episode, 235 ± 56 pg/mL; P < .001), and this was in the mature active p17 form. IL-1β secretion was inhibited by ZYVAD, a caspase inhibitor. Similar results were found for stimulated monocytes (during a febrile episode, 743 ± 183 pg/mL; outside a febrile episode, 227 ± 92 pg/mL; P < .05). Genotyping identified variants in 15 of 57 patients, with 12 NLRP3 variants, 1 TNFRSF1A variant, 4 MEFV variants, and 1 MVK variant. Our data strongly suggest that IL-1β monocyte production is dysregulated in patients with PFAPA syndrome. Approximately 20% of them were found to have NLRP3 variants, suggesting that inflammasome-related genes might be involved in this autoinflammatory syndrome.
