Behçet's disease in Lebanon: report of 100 cases

To present clinical features of Behçet's disease in Lebanon and to evaluate the efficacy of treatment.

The 100 patients are seen at Hotel-Dieu de France Hospital of Beirut between 1980 and 1992. Diagnostic criteria are those of the Behçet Syndrome Research Committee of Japan.

Recurrent oral ulcers are present in 95% of cases, genital ulcers in 78%, ocular manifestations are more frequent than those of several studies whereas skin lesions and vascular signs are less frequent. Joint involvement are recorded in 65% of cases and neurological one in 14%. The effectiveness of colchicine therapy is confirmed for mucocutaneous lesions and arthritis. Immunosuppressive agents are more beneficial than steroids alone on serious uveitis. An aggressive treatment with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs improve the prognosis of meningoencephalitis.

Behçet's disease doesn't have any specific characteristics in Lebanon despite some variation in the frequency of lesions.