[Frequency and predictive factors of venous thrombosis in Behçet's disease]

To investigate the clinical features of venous thrombosis in patients with Behçet's disease and to determine the patients at high risk for this complication.

We retrospectively studied patients with venous thrombosis (n = 157) who were followed up in the Internal Medicine department. These patients were divided into two groups according to the existence (n = 60, 38.2%) or not (n = 97, 61.8%) of Behçet disease. To find correlations between venous involvement and other manifestations of the disease, patients with Behçet's disease and venous thrombosis were compared to those without venous.

Behçet's disease patients were younger (p = 0.020) and most often men (p < 0.01) compared with patients with venous thrombosis unrelated to Behçet disease. Unusual location was also more frequent in the Behçet's disease group, especially thrombosis of the superior and inferior vena cava (p = 0.030 and p = 0.013) and the suprahepatic veins (p = 0.006). Among Behçet's patients, those with venous thrombosis were more male (p = 0.003) and had less ocular and articular involvement (p < 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively).

Compared to patients without venous thrombosis, patients with Behcet's disease with venous thrombosis are younger, are predominantly male, have a lower frequency of ocular and articular involvement and present an unusual topography of the thrombosis.