Table 4.

Patients with Behçet Disease Who May Benefit From Anti—Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α Therapy

•Patients who have a definite diagnosis of Behçet disease

•Patients who have active disease, including objective signs of inflammation

•Patients who have failed treatment with drugs that have a documented efficacy for controlling Behçet disease manifestations; these patients may also have taken low-dose corticosteroids (equivalent to a prednisolone dose ≤7.5 mg/day)

•Patients who have contraindications or intolerance to conventional therapeutic regimens

•Patients who do not have contraindications to anti—TNF-α treatment

•Patients with intestinal inflammation, chronic arthritis, and/or mucocutaneous manifestations that significantly impair quality of life

The first 3 groups of patients outlined above typically have severe disease and are likely to benefit from anti—TNF-α therapy. Severe disease is defined as 2 or more relapses of posterior uveitis or panuveitis per year, low visual acuity due to chronic cystoid macular edema, and active central nervous system parenchymal disease.

Adapted from Sfikakis PP, Markomichelakis N, Alpsoy E, et al.⁴⁹