Updated September 29, 2026
Remembering exactly how you felt over the past month can be difficult. How many days did you have a fever? Did the rash happen at the same time as the abdominal pain? Were there days when you felt completely well?
A daily diary can make these patterns easier to discuss with your doctor.
The Auto-Inflammatory Diseases Activity Index (AIDAI) is a symptom diary validated in four conditions: familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD), cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS), and TRAPS.
Download the printable AIDAI diary (PDF)
How to complete the diary
- Use one sheet for each month. Each row represents one day.
- Complete it daily, including days when you feel well. Mark each symptom 1 if present or 0 if absent. A blank entry can mean missing information.
- Use the fever threshold on the form: 38°C or 100.4°F.
- Record medications in the separate column. Medication entries are not part of the symptom score.
- Bring the diary to your appointment. Your clinician can review the pattern alongside your examination and blood tests.
If you suspect an infection or another explanation for a symptom, make a separate note. If the cause is unclear, discuss it with your clinician rather than deciding on your own that it must be a flare.
What can the diary tell us?
The diary helps document symptoms over time. It can support conversations about disease activity and treatment response, but a change between two months does not, by itself, prove that a medicine is working or failing. A 2022 study of patients receiving canakinumab supports using AIDAI to monitor disease activity over time.
AIDAI is not a diagnostic test. AIDAI was originally validated in FMF, MKD, CAPS, and TRAPS. More recent studies have also used it to track symptoms in PFAPA. Its interpretation depends on the condition and clinical context, so review the diary with your clinician rather than using the score alone to diagnose a disease or change treatment.
You can also keep separate notes about missed school or work, sleep, and how symptoms affected daily life. These details matter, even though they are not part of the AIDAI score.
Do not wait to finish the diary before seeking care for new or concerning symptoms.
References and further reading
- Piram and colleagues. Validation of the Auto-Inflammatory Diseases Activity Index (AIDAI) for hereditary recurrent fever syndromes. 2014.
- Koné-Paut and colleagues. Use of AIDAI to monitor disease activity in patients with colchicine-resistant FMF, MKD, and TRAPS treated with canakinumab. 2022.
- Yabanci Erten and colleagues. Evaluation of clinical responses to probiotics and colchicine in PFAPA patients based on AIDAI scores. 2026. This retrospective treatment study used AIDAI in PFAPA; it does not itself establish formal validation for PFAPA.
- Further reading: Mevalonate kinase deficiency: an updated clinical overview and revision of the SHARE recommendations. 2024.
The downloadable sheet is this site’s existing adaptation of AIDAI.