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Clinical features of Behçet’s disease and prediction of the use of biologics in 488 cases: a single tertiary center study

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Abstract

The objectives are to describe the demographic and clinical properties of Behçet's disease (BD) and investigate their relationship with the use of biological agents. Four hundred-eighty-eight patients, (299 (61.3%) males, 189 (38.7%) females), who fulfilled the ISG classification criteria for BD were included, retrospectively. The patient's demographics, disease onset age (DOA), clinical findings of the disease, and the drugs were determined and analyzed statistically. The means of patient age and DOA were 40.7 ± 9.9 and 30.8 ± 8.8 years, respectively. The most common initial findings were oral ulcer (OU)s (30.1%), genital ulcer (GU) (27.5%), ocular involvement (OI) (12.5%), and papulopustular lesion (PPL)s (10.1%). The most common clinical manifestations were OUs (96.9%), PPLs (70.2%), HLA-B51 (64.4%), positive pathergy reaction (26.4%), GU (58.8%), OI (44.7%), erythema nodosum (29.8%), and vascular involvement (VSI) (27.3%). Although, the frequency of GU was higher in females (p = 0.01), PPLs (p = 0.001) and VSI (p = 0.001) were higher in males. Sixty-three (8.9%) patients used a biological agent. Its frequency was higher in younger patients (< 40 years) (p = 0.006), males (p = 0.012) and patients with OI (p = 0.001). Besides, the DOA (p = 0.012) and the current age (p = 0.001) were lower in biological agent users. The possibility of using biological agent was increased in males (OR = 2.2), patients with OI (OR = 2.7) and young patients (OR = 0.9). Mucocutaneous lesions are distinctive features of BD, especially OUs precede other findings. GU was more common in females and PPLs and VSI were in males. The probability of using biologics is higher in males, patients with OI, and young patients.

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Data availability

The obtained data of this study are present in the repository of the corresponding author. It can be made available to researchers for academic research upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Assoc. Prof Doğan ÇAKAN, MD for proofreading, and Biostatistics Department of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa for checking the analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Cerrahpasa School of Medicine, Istanbul University-Cerrrahpasa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Zeliha Kübra Çakan

  2. Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey

    Burcu Yağız & Yavuz Pehlivan

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  1. Zeliha Kübra Çakan
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Correspondence to Zeliha Kübra Çakan.

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The authors have no conflict of interest, financial or otherwise. The authors are not related to any pharma company and this study was not financially supported by any institution. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare relevant to this article’s content. This manuscript is original and it, or any part of it, has not been previously published; nor is it under consideration for publication elsewhere.

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Çakan, Z.K., Yağız, B. & Pehlivan, Y. Clinical features of Behçet’s disease and prediction of the use of biologics in 488 cases: a single tertiary center study. Rheumatol Int 43, 2089–2097 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-023-05416-0

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