Cellulitis from Behçet's Disease Activation: A Case Report

Abstract

Behcet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disease of unknown etiology characterized by chronic recurrent oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcerations, skin lesions, and eye involvement. Here, we report a case with severe oral aphthous ulcers and face and neck infection resulting from Behcet's disease (BD) activation. Elevated white blood corpuscles count, C reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were consistent with severe infection and inflammatory response. We provided antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and supportive treatments, and the condition subsided in 5 days. However, after 3 weeks, oral aphthous ulcers relapsed and ulceration appeared in the patient's genital organ. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting oral aphthous ulcers from BD activation inducing further severe inflammation and infection. This case also revealed that the treatment and control of BD does not merely rely on medical treatment but also on daily control of the disease activation. The daily oral hygiene care and dental treatments may be one of the important daily practices to prevent disease activation in such patients.