Inaugural flare-up of Behcet's disease concomitant with a dental infection

BACKGROUND: Behcet's disease can be aggravated by chronic infection. Our ca se illustrates how the disease can be disclosed during an acute activation of a chronic infectious focus. CASE REPORT: A 40-year-old man had Behcet's syndrome associating fever, bip olar aphtosis, cutaneous pseudo folliculitis, anterior uveitis, and meningi tis following an acute episode of a dental infection, with periapical granu loma. Antibiotic therapy was ineffective in calming this first flare-up of Behcet's disease. Corticosteroid and colchicine therapy were effective. DISCUSSION: Clinical and experimental work would implicat buccal streptococ cal flora in the pathogenesis of Behcet's disease. Antibiotics offer intere sting perspectives but further studies are needed to define their role in t he treatment of Behcet's disease.