Destructive arthritis in Behcet's disease: a report of eight cases and literature review

Behcet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic disease with typically non-erosive and non-deforming joint manifestations. The occurrence of destructive arthritis in Behcet's disease has rarely been reported. Here we attempt to define the epidemiological, clinical and radiological features of this unusual type of osteoarticular manifestation of BD. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 553 patients with Behcet's disease seen over 25-year period in our department of Internal Medicine (Sfax-Tunisia). All the patients fulfilled The International Study Group of Behcet's Disease criteria. Patients with destructive arthritis (defined by radiological changes: erosions and/or geodes and/or global narrowing of the joint space and/or ankylosis) were included in this Study. Rheumatologic manifestations were observed in 71.1% patients. Eight patients (1.4% overall, 2% among patients with rheumatologic manifestations) had presented with destructive arthritis. The joint symptoms involved the knee in two cases, the wrist in one case, the elbow (one case), the sternoclavicular joint in two cases, the foot in one case and the tarsal scaphoid in one case. There was recurrent arthritis at the same joint in the majority of cases. X-ray examinations revealed radiological changes: global narrowing of the joint in one case (knee), narrowing of the joint with geodes in three cases (knee, sternoclavicular), isolated geodes in two cases (tarsal scaphoid, foot) and severe lesions with ankylosis in two cases (two elbows, right wrist). joint manifestations are common in patients with BD, but destructive arthritis is rare.