Mucocutaneous involvement in behçet’s disease

Abstract

Behçet's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by its clinical polymorphism associating mucocutaneous involvement to systemic manifestations. The mucocutaneous lesions are considered the hallmark of the disease, being the most common symptoms presenting at the onset of disease. Our objective was to determine the characteristics of this skin involvement during Behçet's disease. We conducted a descriptive study over a period of 30 years, having collected all patients with Behçet's disease. These were 98 patients. A male predominance was observed in our studied population with a Sex Ratio of 2.5. The mean age at diagnosis was 34 years. Mucocutaneous involvement was observed in all patients. Oral aphthosis was constant and genital ulcers, were observed in 81 cases. The other mucocutaneous manifestations were: pseudofolliculitis (61 cases), erythema nodosum (7 cases), skin ulcers (4 cases), acneiform lesions (2 cases), perianal ulcers (1 case), skin ulceration (1 case) and erythema multiforme. (1 case). All of our patients were treated with colchicine. Corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were each indicated in one case for resistant forms.