Re. Heyman et al., EVALUATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL STUDY-GROUP FOR BEHCETS-DISEASE CRITERIA IN BRAZILIAN PATIENTS, Clinical rheumatology, 14(5), 1995, pp. 526-530
Twenty-eight patients with Behcet's Disease (BD), diagnosed according
to at least one of the published and internationally recognized diagno
stic criteria (Japanese Committee, International Committee, O'Duffy, M
ason & Barnes and James) were compared with 56 controls with other rhe
umatic diseases paired by sex and age. This study aimed at comparing t
he sensitivity and specificity of the five diagnostic criteria chosen
as well as the validation of the use of the new set of diagnostic crit
eria proposed by the International Committee in our population,We conc
lude that, in general, Brazilian patients with BD present demographic
and clinical characteristics similar to those described in the world l
iterature. The criteria proposed by the International Committee, altho
ugh not the most accurate in our study, are a valid proposal for the u
niversal unification of diagnostic criteria for BD.