Ocular Inflammation Linked to Poor Outcomes Among Men With Behçet Disease
Ocular involvement and panuveitis is commonly found in male patients with Behçet disease, and can lead to poor visual prognosis and blindness, according to a new study.
Researchers studied the clinical, therapeutic, and epidemiological characteristics of eye involvement and symptoms of patients with Behçet disease, in order to determine predictive and diagnostic measures.
”Data were retrospectively analyzed from medical records. Severe ocular involvement was defined by visual acuity limited to negative or misdirected light perception,” the authors reported.
The retrospective study involved 93 observations of oculo-Behçet, over the course of 9 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:9 and an average age of 34.5 years.
“Ocular involvement was indicative of the disease in 4%, bilateral in 61%, and active in 68.8%. Uveitis was the most common disease (57%) dominated by panuveitis, followed by retinal vasculitis (51.6%) and papillary edema (10.7%),” the authors wrote. “Systemic corticosteroid therapy in combination with immunosuppressants (azathioprine) was prescribed in 55.9%. Male sex and panuveitis were predictors of severe ocular involvement.”
--Angelique Platas
Reference:
Saadouli D, Lahmar A, Mansour KB, Afrit NE, Yahyaoui S, Afrit MAE. Ocular manifestations in Behçet's disease French J. Rheumatol. 2021;44(2):196-202
