Clinical and Ophthalmological Findings in Patients with Behçet’s Uveitis at First Presentation

Abstract

Aim: The present study attempted to demonstrate the clinical, demographic, and ophthalmological findings of patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) at first admission and relevant treatment modalities. Methods: We considered 161 eyes of 103 patients applying to the Uvea Unit of Ulucanlar Eye Training and Research Hospital between 2000-2012 and already suffering from BD or diagnosed with BD at their follow-ups. Then, we retrospectively investigated their clinical, demographic, and ophthalmological findings at first admission and the treatment modalities with the help of their medical records. Results: There were 70 (68%) male and 33 (32%) female patients, and 17 patients (16.5%) initially presented with ocular symptoms. While the patients’ mean diagnosis age was 26.79±9.24 years (4-61 years), it was 29.52±9.49 years (6-62 years) at the first eye attack. Eye involvement was bilateral in 58 patients (56.3%) and unilateral in 45 (43.7%). About half of the eyes (55.9%) were presented as panuveitis, 22.4% as posterior uveitis, 15.5% as anterior uveitis, and 6.2% as intermediate uveitis. While there were anterior chamber reaction + vitritis + retinitis and/or vasculitis (panuveitis) in 90 (55.9%) eyes, the others were characterized by isolated retinitis (12.4%) and isolated iridocyclitis (8.7%). Only two eyes (0.1%) had hypopyon at admission. We discovered at least one complication in 111 eyes (68.9%) at first admission. In particular, the most prevalent complication was found to be isolated macular edema in 45 eyes (28%) and isolated cataracts in 17 eyes (10.6%). On the other hand, topical steroid + systemic steroid + immunosuppressive (23.6%), topical + systemic steroid (16.8%), and systemic steroid + immunosuppressive (11.8%) became the most prevalently adopted medical treatments (with additions/alterations) at first admission, respectively. Conclusion: In a nutshell, BD is considered a multisystemic condition with frequent ocular manifestations. BD-associated uveitis often presents as panuveitis. Thus, early and efficient treatment of ocular complications seems to be critical for better visual prognosis.