Skip to main content
PMC home page
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 1983 Oct;42(5):505–515. doi: 10.1136/ard.42.5.505

The arthritis of Behçet's disease: a prospective study.

S Yurdakul, H Yazici, Y Tüzün, H Pazarli, B Yalçin, M Altaç, Y Ozyazgan, N Tüzüner, A Müftüoğlu
PMCID: PMC1001284  PMID: 6625699

Abstract

A prospective study of arthritis was performed in 47 patients with Behçet's disease followed up over a 47-month period (mean 19.25 months, SD 14.09). These patients had a total of 80 episodes of arthritis, which were analysed for joint distribution and symmetry, in 56 of which the duration could also be determined. Attacks were oligoarticular, affecting up to 4 joints per patient, 54 (68%) being monoarticular. Knees, ankles, and wrists were the most commonly involved joints. Involvement of spinal, shoulder, hip, and sacroiliac joints was rare. The arthritis was usually not deforming and subacute; 82% (46/56) of the attacks lasted for 2 months or less and 18% (10/56) for between 3 months and 4 years. The ESR was moderately elevated during the attacks. In 32 specimens the synovial fluid was inflammatory (cell count 14.7 +/- 10.1 x 10(9)/l), but in 19 (59%) a good mucin clot formed. Synovial biopsy in 12 patients revealed superficial ulceration, paucity of plasma cells, and in 5 instances lymphoid follicle formation.

Full text

PDF

Images in this article

512Image
on p.512
513Image
on p.513

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aktulga E., Altaç M., Müftüoglu A., Ozyazgan Y., Pazarli H., Tüzün Y., Yalçin B., Yazici H., Yurdakul S. A double blind study of colchicine in Behçet's disease. Haematologica. 1980 Jun;65(3):399–402. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chajek T., Fainaru M. Behçet's disease. Report of 41 cases and a review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore) 1975 May;54(3):179–196. doi: 10.1097/00005792-197505000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chamberlain M. A. Behcet's syndrome in 32 patients in Yorkshire. Ann Rheum Dis. 1977 Dec;36(6):491–499. doi: 10.1136/ard.36.6.491. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FRANCE R., BUCHANAN R. N., WILSON M. W., SHELDON M. B., Jr Relapsing iritis with recurrent ulcers of the mouth and genitalia (Behçet's syndrome); review: with report of additional case. Medicine (Baltimore) 1951 Dec;30(4):335–355. doi: 10.1097/00005792-195112000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gibson T., Laurent R., Highton J., Wilton M., Dyson M., Millis R. Synovial histopathology of behçet's syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 1981 Aug;40(4):376–381. doi: 10.1136/ard.40.4.376. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Mason R. M., Barnes C. G. Behçet's syndrome with arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 1969 Mar;28(2):95–103. doi: 10.1136/ard.28.2.95. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Müftüoğlu A. U., Yazici H., Yurdakul S., Pazarli H., Ozyazgan Y., Tüzün Y., Altaç M., Yalçin B. Behçet's disease: lack of correlation of clinical manifestations with HLA antigens. Tissue Antigens. 1981 Feb;17(2):226–230. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.1981.tb00687.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. O'Duffy J. D., Carney J. A., Deodhar S. Behçet's disease. Report of 10 cases, 3 with new manifestations. Ann Intern Med. 1971 Oct;75(4):561–570. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-75-4-561. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Oshima Y., Shimizu T., Yokohari R., Matsumoto T., Kano K., Kagami T., Nagaya H. Clinical Studies on Behçet's Syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 1963 Jan;22(1):36–45. doi: 10.1136/ard.22.1.36. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. PARKER R. H., PEARSON C. M. A simplified synovial biopsy needle. Arthritis Rheum. 1963 Apr;6:172–176. doi: 10.1002/art.1780060209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. SEZER N. Further investigations on the virus of Behçet's disease. Am J Ophthalmol. 1956 Jan;41(1):41–55. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schumacher H. R., Kitridou R. C. Synovitis of recent onset. A clinicopathologic study during the first month of disease. Arthritis Rheum. 1972 Sep-Oct;15(5):465–485. doi: 10.1002/art.1780150502. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Shimizu T., Ehrlich G. E., Inaba G., Hayashi K. Behçet disease (Behçet syndrome). Semin Arthritis Rheum. 1979 May;8(4):223–260. doi: 10.1016/0049-0172(79)90004-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sohar E., Gafni J., Pras M., Heller H. Familial Mediterranean fever. A survey of 470 cases and review of the literature. Am J Med. 1967 Aug;43(2):227–253. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(67)90167-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Vernon-Roberts B., Barnes C. G., Revell P. A. Synovial pathology in Behcet's syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 1978 Apr;37(2):139–145. doi: 10.1136/ard.37.2.139. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Yazici H., Akokan G., Yalçin B., Müftüoğlu A. The high prevalence of HLA-B5 in Behçet's disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1977 Nov;30(2):259–261. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yazici H., Tuzlaci M., Yurdakul S. A controlled survey of sacroiliitis in Behcet's disease. Ann Rheum Dis. 1981 Dec;40(6):558–559. doi: 10.1136/ard.40.6.558. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yazici H., Tuzun Y., Pazarli H., Yalcin B., Yurdakul S., Muftuoglu A. The combined use of HLA-B5 and the pathergy test as diagnostic markers of Behçet's disease in Turkey. J Rheumatol. 1980 Mar-Apr;7(2):206–210. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Yurdakul S., Yazici H., Tüzüner N., Aytac S., Müftüoğlu A. U. Olecranon nodules in a case of Behçet's disease. Ann Rheum Dis. 1981 Apr;40(2):182–184. doi: 10.1136/ard.40.2.182. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Zizic T. M., Stevens M. B. The arthropathy of Behçet's disease. Johns Hopkins Med J. 1975 Jun;136(6):243–250. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES