T. Acican et Ou. Gurkan, Azathioprine-steroid combination therapy for pulmonary arterial aneurysms in Behcet's disease, RHEUM INTL, 20(4), 2001, pp. 171-174
Vasculitis is the primary pathological feature of Behcet's disease and in w
hich pulmonary arterial aneurysm formations are rare but serious complicati
ons representing poor prognosis. There is no agreement on how to treat majo
r venous and arterial disease. The use of steroids alone or corticosteroid
treatment supplemented with cyclophosphamide or azathioprine is still contr
oversial. We present three young male patients with Behcet's disease with a
neurysms in the pulmonary arteries. In two of them, cyclophosphamide was th
e first choice of treatment, but this was ceased due to side effects. All t
hree patients were then treated with azathioprine (2 mg/kg per day) and met
hylprednisolone (1.5 mg/kg per day). All three showed clinical improvement.
Regression was observed radiologically in two tone minimal and the other c
omplete). No complication related to therapy was encountered. Steroid thera
py supplemented with azathioprine may be a good choice for treatment of pul
monary arterial aneurysms in Behcet's disease.