Rheumatologic manifestations of Behcet's disease: concerning 309 cases.

Purpose. - To define the epidemiology and clinical features of Behcet's dis ease, giving special attention to unusual forms. Methods. - We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 309 cases wit h joint manifestations among 450 cases of Behcet's disease seen over a 20-y ear period who met the International Study Group of Behcet's disease criter ia. Results. - Joint manifestations were present in 68.3% and were inaugural in 34.5%. The knee and ankles were the joints most commonly affected. Monoart hritis, oligoarthritis and polyarthritis were seen respectively in 12, 13.5 and 19.8%. Sacroiliitis is observed in 6%. Unusual forms included destruct ive polyarthritis (two cases), popliteal cyst (two cases), myositis (two ca ses) and ankylosing spondylitis (two cases). Conclusion. - Joint manifestations are common in Behcet's disease. They are frequently associated with erythema nodosum and necrotic pseudofolliculiti s. Polyarthritis is not rare. Their unusual forms deserve to be known. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.