Behcet's disease presentations and care outcomes in a tertiary hospital in south-western Saudi Arabia

Aim To study the clinical presentations of Behcet's disease in patients visiting a tertiary hospital in south-western Saudi Arabia. Patients and methods Forty-seven patients with Behcet's disease attending the Rheumatology Department at Asser Central Hospital, Saudi Arabia were recruited into the study. The study was conducted over a period of 5 years from January 2012 to July 2017. Medical records of the patients were reviewed to analyze the frequency of different clinical manifestations. Results The study had 26 men and 21 women. The mean age of the patients was 37.11 +/- 11.9 years (range <30-60 years). Frequency of main clinical manifestations in these patients included 89.4% (42/47) oral ulcers, 80.9% (38) genital ulcers, 55.3% (26/47) ocular complications, 55.3% arthralgia (26/47), 31.9% arthritis (15/47), 36% neurological complications (17/47), 34% gastrointestinal involvement (16), 17% pulmonary complication (8/47), cutaneous lesions in the form of skin pustules were found in 31.9% of cases and erythema only in 4.3% of patients. Deep venous thrombosis was observed in 66.6% of patients. About 96% of patients showed improvement with drugs. Only 2 patients died during the study period. Conclusion Behcet's disease showed higher male predominance in south-western Saudi Arabia, similar to other Middle-Eastern countries. The clinical characteristics are comparable to different studies reported from other countries. Regarding the care outcome, the majority of patients were cured using oral corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs.