OBJECTIVE: To compare the range of medical and surgical therapies for children with PFAPA syndrome. METHODS: A literature search was performed using Medline, Embase, Ovid and Cochrane databases for studies between 1987 and 2010 that compared PFAPA treatment in children (surgical versus medical). Random-effect meta-analytical techniques were conducted for the outcome measures. RESULTS: The use of antibiotics and cimetidine in PFAPA syndrome are ineffective. However, there is evidence that the use of steroids is effective in the resolution of symptoms. Tonsillectomy (+/- adenoidectomy) as a treatment of PFAPA was found to be an effective intervention for resolution of symptoms (P<0.00001). Meta-analysis of surgery versus cimetidine and surgery versus antibiotics demonstrated that surgery is a significantly more effective treatment for PFAPA syndrome. A comparison of treatment with steroids or surgery did not show any statistically significant difference, confirming the effectiveness of both therapies for the resolution of PFAPA syndrome (P=0.83). CONCLUSIONS: The most effective non-surgical therapy is corticosteroids. However, they do not prevent future fever cycles. The results of this meta-analysis showed that tonsillectomy (+/- adenoidectomy) is the most effective intervention for long-term resolution of PFAPA syndrome symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the range of medical and surgical therapies for children with PFAPA syndrome. METHODS: A literature search was performed using Medline, Embase, Ovid and Cochrane databases for studies between 1987 and 2010 that compared PFAPA treatment in children (surgical versus medical). Random-effect meta-analytical techniques were conducted for the outcome measures. RESULTS: The use of antibiotics and cimetidine in PFAPA syndrome are ineffective. However, there is evidence that the use of steroids is effective in the resolution of symptoms. Tonsillectomy (+/- adenoidectomy) as a treatment of PFAPA was found to be an effective intervention for resolution of symptoms (P<0.00001). Meta-analysis of surgery versus cimetidine and surgery versus antibiotics demonstrated that surgery is a significantly more effective treatment for PFAPA syndrome. A comparison of treatment with steroids or surgery did not show any statistically significant difference, confirming the effectiveness of both therapies for the resolution of PFAPA syndrome (P=0.83). CONCLUSIONS: The most effective non-surgical therapy is corticosteroids. However, they do not prevent future fever cycles. The results of this meta-analysis showed that tonsillectomy (+/- adenoidectomy) is the most effective intervention for long-term resolution of PFAPA syndrome symptoms.
Authors: S Bens; T Zichner; A M Stütz; A Caliebe; R Wagener; K Hoff; J O Korbel; P von Bismarck; R Siebert Journal: Genes Immun Date: 2014-01-23 Impact factor: 2.676
Authors: Annalisa Marcuzzi; Elisa Piscianz; Giulio Kleiner; Alberto Tommasini; Giovanni Maria Severini; Lorenzo Monasta; Sergio Crovella Journal: Biomed Res Int Date: 2013-01-01 Impact factor: 3.411