There is no single test that proves FMF. The diagnosis rests on the attack pattern, blood markers in and between attacks, the gene test and the response to colchicine. Tick features in the calculators below, then press play on the lab timeline and the diagnostic pathway.
Eurofever/PRINTO 2019 calculator
These are classification criteria, built so that research studies enrol comparable patients. They are not a diagnostic test for one person, and a doctor can diagnose FMF in someone who does not meet them. 75
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Genotype + clinical arm
Clinical-only arm
Sensitivity and specificity from Gattorno et al. 2019 (derivation set, then validation set). In Turkish children the criteria showed sensitivity 96% and specificity 73.1%; a Turkish referral cohort classified 98.2% of homozygotes and 80.2% of heterozygotes, and no controls. 75,228,253
The older criteria sets
Blood markers across an attack
Between attacks
Curve shapes are schematic. The attack and between-attack values for SAA and CRP are the medians from Lachmann et al. 2006; the other rows show direction of change only.
The diagnostic pathway
A simplified teaching sequence drawn from published reviews and guidelines. Real work-ups overlap and loop back.
Exam hookTel Hashomer: 2 major, or 1 major + 2 minor. Livneh: ≥1 major or ≥2 minor. Yalçınkaya–Özen (children): ≥2 of 5. Eurofever/PRINTO: confirmatory genotype + ≥1 of 4, non-confirmatory + ≥2 of 4, or clinical-only ≥6 of 9. Colchicine response is a major criterion in Tel Hashomer and a minor one in Livneh. 75,159,215,276
In plain wordsDoctors recognise FMF from the story: short bouts of fever with belly, chest or joint pain that stop by themselves, with blood tests that are high during an attack and calmer in between. A gene test helps but can be negative in people who really have FMF. Sometimes the clearest answer is whether daily colchicine stops the attacks.