Endoscopic findings in patients with familial Mediterranean fever and dyspeptic symptoms

The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical, endoscopic, histopathological, laboratory, and imaging findings of patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) presenting with dyspeptic symptoms.

Endoscopy was performed in 28 patients with FMF undergoing colchicine therapy, who presented to our hospital between 2012 and 2014 with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and dyspeptic complaints. Upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy was performed in all patients; 16 of these underwent colonoscopy. Demographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory data, genetic analysis, imaging data, and endoscopy and colonoscopy findings were evaluated in all patients.

Histopathological analysis of biopsy specimens revealed gastrointestinal pathology in 21 (75%) patients. Upper endoscopy analysis revealed that 14 (50%) patients had antral gastritis (8 Helicobacter pylori (-) antral gastritis and 6 H. pylori (+) chronic active gastritis) and 2 (7%) cases had giardiasis. Four antral gastritis cases had concomitant esophagitis, and 2 patients had widespread ulcers in the terminal ileum. The rest had a normal colonic appearance; however, three patients with normal colonoscopic findings were found to have chronic active colitis on histopathological examination.

In this study, most patients with FMF presenting with dyspeptic complaints had gastrointestinal pathology. Furthermore, there was higher inflammatory bowel disease incidence in these patients.