FAMILIAL Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder prevalent among Sephardi Jews, Armenians, and Levantine Arabs. It is characterized by (1) recurrent episodic attacks of fever accompanied by pain in the abdomen, chest, or joints, and (2) early death due to amyloidosis. The consistency with which serous and synovial membranes are affected during attacks makes all the more noteworthy the sparing of the pericardium.
The purpose of this communication is to describe a case of FMF in which pericarditis was the outstanding feature of a febrile attack.
Report of a Case
A 10-year-old boy of Morrocoean Jewish extraction was admitted to the pediatric ward of the Jaffa Government Hospital, because of severe precordial pain and fever which had first appeared about a week previously. The patient had been treated at home with tetracycline without effect.The history revealed that the boy had had recurrent short attacks of abdominal pain