[Aphthae of the oral cavity: differential diagnostic considerations concerning a case report]

Oral aphthae which are very commonly seen in an ENT practice should trigger a detailed investigation of the patient's history and a wide variety of differential diagnoses.

A 32-year-old male patient was admitted suffering from aphthous ulcers, fever, painful ankles and dysuria. Treatment with antibiotics was not successful. In addition to the above mentioned symptoms an exanthema and genital lesions arose during the hospital stay. After having excluded differential diagnoses a Morbus Behçet was diagnosed. The patient recovered after treatment with steroids and NSAIDs.

Patients suffering from aphthae in the oral cavity are common and need to be precisely questioned about their history with an assessment of the frequency, morphology, localisation, number and type of systemic symptoms. M. Behçet is a non-infectious progressive chronic systemic vasculitis of unknown aetiology. Autoimmune, viral or genetic factors are possible. An HLA-association has already been proven. M. Behçet can be diagnosed by excluding all the other possible differential diagnoses.