Intestinal Behcet’s disease with pyoderma gangrenosum: A case report

Abstract

We report here a very rare case of intestinal Behcet's disease with pyoderma gangrenosum. A 16-year-old woman who was diagnosed with intestinal Behcet's disease by the presence of cutaneous pathergy together with two major criteria (oral and genital aphthoses) and one minor criterion (gastrointestinal manifestations), was referred to our hospital with a left lower leg ulcer and abdominal pain in September 1989. Colonoscopy demonstrated flare-up colitis involving the entire colon. Her lower leg lesion was a painful destructive ulcer with an irregular margin and a ragged overhanging edge. Based on these clinical and laboratory findings, we diagnosed her cutaneous ulcer as pyoderma gangrenosum developing with exacerbated intestinal Behcet's disease. Her cutaneous and intestinal lesions were poorly controlled though she received oral prednisolone treatment for a month. Because of aggravated abdominal symptoms with peritoneal irritation, we performed total colectomy in November 1989. The resected specimen was histologically compatible with intestinal Behcet's disease showing severe inflammation with deep ulcerations and neutrophil accumulation. Subsequently, pyoderma gangrenosum rapidly improved. This clinical course may suggest the close relationship between pyoderma gangrenosum and intestinal Behcet's disease.