Behcet's Disease in Korean

Kang, Shin Jeong; Kim, Hong Bok

Abstract

Behcet's disease is a chronic, multi systemic disorder which is more frequently seen in the Mediterranean basin, Middle East, and Far East. One thousand four hundred fifty four patients, who had visited the Behcet's Disease Specialty Clinic of Yonsei Universtiy, College of Medicine from November, 1983 to December, 1990, were grouped into 4 groups by Shimizu's classification, and their clinical and epidemiological characteristics were evaluated. 1. The disease occurred more often in women than men, and the mean age of onset was 29.0 years old. 2. About 85% of the patients were from Seoul, Kyunggi, and lnchon. 3. The number of new patients has increased yearly. 4. By the Shimizu classification, incomplete type was most common. 5. The most frequent major symptom was oral ulcer (97.5%), and the most frequent minor symptom was arthritis (29.5%). The most frequent initial symptom was oral ulcer (78.1%). 6. The mean interval between the initial symptom and ocular symtom was 44 months. 7. Ocular lesions appeared in 239 patients, and occurred more often in men than women. Their mean age was 28.2 years old, and the most common ocular symptom was iritis (64.0%). 8. About 30% of the patients had corrected visual acuity of 0.01 or worse at their first visit. Visual acuity was worsened in 50.9% of the eyes followed for over 24 months. 9. Twenty nine Behcet's disease patients with refractory ocular involvement were treated with Cyclosporin A (CYA), and visual acuity was improved in 52.7% of the patients treated over 6 months with CYA.