BEHCETS-DISEASE - CLINICAL-STUDY OF JORDANIAN PATIENTS

Background. Behcet's disease is a chronic, recurrent, inflammatory dis order characterized by the triad of oral and genital ulcers and ocular lesions. The etiology is unknown. This is the first report giving det ails of the clinical manifestations of Behcet's disease in Jordanian p atients. Methods. Twenty patients with Behcet's disease were studied t o determine the clinical pattern in the North of Jordan. The patients were seen in Princess Basma Teaching Hospital in North Jordan. They pr esented to various clinics and underwent full clinical examination. Da ta for each patient on all features of Behcet's disease were recorded on a standard form. A comparison was made between Behcet's disease in Jordan and other countries in the region. Results. Of the 20 patients, 14 were men and six women, giving a ratio of 2.3:1. Their ages ranged from 14 to 58 years. All had mouth ulcers, 65% genital ulcers, 65% oc ular involvement, 55% joint involvement, 35% skin lesions, 20% vascula r lesions, and 5% gastrointestinal involvement. The oral ulcers were t he first manifestation of the disease process in 70% of our patients. Skin lesions, genital ulcers, and involvement of the central nervous s ystem and the pulmonary system were less frequent in our study. Conclu sions. Although it is difficult to obtain figures as to the incidence and prevalence of Behcet's disease in Jordan, the clinical manifestati ons, with a few exceptions, are similar to those in other countries in the region.