[Cardiac valve involvement in Behcet's disease: a clinical study of 10 patients]

To assess the clinical features in patients with cardiac valve lesions associated with Behcet's disease (BD).

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 10 BD patients with cardiac valve lesions who were admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) during June 1999 to June 2009.

Aortic regurgitation occurred in 6% of patients with BD in PUCMH. Patients included 8 male and 2 female with the mean age of 36.5. All the patients had occult onset cardiac symptoms with an average length of clinical course of 6 years. 5 patients fulfilled the ISG diagnostic criteria for BD and another 5 patients diagnosed by experts. The main echocardiography findings were severe aortic regurgitation, aneurysmal dilatations of ascendant aorta, echo-free space at the aortic root, aortic valve prolapse, mesh like mass incorporating aortic cusp, aortic valve perforation, et al. 3 patients underwent 7 operations. 5 simple aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgeries resulted in severe perivalvular leakage. 2 patients underwent Bentall and heart transplant surgeries respectively with perioperative immunosuppressive therapy had no complications.

Cardiac valve involvement in BD is a rare but critical problem that requires a timely diagnosis and management. The current diagnostic criteria may have possibilities of delayed diagnosis of such problem. Echocardiography seems to be helpful for the timely diagnosis. The immunosuppressive therapy and Bentall type operations may be essential for improving the treatment outcome of BD with cardiac valve lesions.