A recent study determined that uveitis and retinal vasculitis were the most frequent ocular manifestations of Behçet disease, with ophthalmological involvement being more frequent in men.

The study was presented by Alba Herrero-Morant of the Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, Santader, Spain, at the American College of Rheumatology 2021 Convergence.

For patients with Behçet disease, ophthalmological involvement is one of the most feared manifestations. The goal of this study was to identity the main demographic and clinical features of ophthalmological involvement within a well-defined cohort of patients with Behçet disease.

Following the 2014 International Criteria for Behçet Disease (ICBD), 94 patients out of a cohort of 120 patients were chosen. All were diagnosed with Behçet disease between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2019. Of the 94 patients, 50 had ocular involvement (28 men and 22 women, presenting a ratio of 1.0:0.8). The mean age at diagnosis was 37.6 years and the mean ICBD score was 5.8. The most frequent manifestation present in this group was neurological involvement, while most patients without ophthalmological involvement most often presented with genital ulcers.

Of the patients with ocular manifestations, the most common were uveitis (n=44, 88.0%), retinal vasculitis (n=5, 10%), and dry eye (n=5, 10%). Of patients experiencing uveitis, the most common type was anterior (n=17, 38.6%), followed by posterior uveitis (n=14, 31.8%). Among all the instances of uveitis, 26 instances (59.1%) were unilateral. For patients under aged 60 years or younger, panuveitis was more frequent, while patients aged 70 years and older were more likely to experience anterior uveitis. No significant different was found between genders.

—Allison Casey

Reference:

Herrero-Morant A, Suárez-Amorín G, Demetrio-Pablo R, et al. Epidemiology and clinical features of ophthalmological manifestations in Behçet’s disease: study of 50 patients of a series of 120 patients in a region in northern spain. Presented at: American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2021; November 5-9, 2021; virtual. Abstract 1050.