Enteroclysis findings of intestinal Behcet disease: a comparative study with Crohn disease

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was threefold; to define the enteroclysis (EC) findings of intestinal involvement in Behcet disease (BD), to compare these findings with those seen in Crohn disease (CD), and to determine the relation between the duration of BD and severity of the EC findings.

Methods: From 1997 to 2000, 17 BD and 50 CD cases were examined by EC examination. EC was performed with a 13-F balloon catheter via transnasal entubation. Mucosal and mural changes were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed with the Mann-Whitney U test to determine the relation between duration of BD and severity of the EC findings. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: In 12 (70.58%) of 17 BD cases, EC demonstrated intestinal pathologic findings such as ulcerations, fold thickening, granular pattern, pseudopolyp formation, and bowel wall thickening. No statistical correlation between the severity of EC findings and the duration of BD was found.

Conclusion: EC should be the radiologic method to evaluate the intestinal pathology in symptomatic BD patients. The main EC finding in BD was ulceration mostly in the aphthous form. The EC findings in BD, even in longstanding cases, are usually mild when compared with those seen in CD.