Sociodemographic and Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Behçet's Disease Followed Up in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department of a Tertiary Hospital.

Objective: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease that causes significant morbidity worldwide. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients with BD. Materials and Methods: Patients admitted to our physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic between January 2015 and December 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred sixty patients who met the diagnostic criteria of the International Study Group for BD were included in the study. In addition to the patients' demographic characteristics, their clinical features, including age at onset, symptoms on initial admission, disease duration, systemic/organ involvement and medical treatments used, were recorded. Results: The mean age of the 160 patients included in the study was 40.48±10.0 [minimum (min): 19, maximum (max): 72]. The mean age at disease onset was 30.54±8.46 (min: 14, max: 62). The most common involvement type in BD was mucocutaneous manifestations, and oral aphthae were the most common mucocutaneous symptom, with an occurrence rate of 100%. Regarding clinical manifestations, 36.3% (n=58) of patients showed ocular involvement, 16.9% (n=27) had vascular involvement and 15% (n=24) had musculoskeletal involvement. The rarest involvement was that of the genitourinary system, with a rate of 0.6% (n=1). Colchicine was the most commonly used therapeutic agent, whereas steroids, azathioprine, cyclosporine and various biologicals could also be used, depending on clinical status. Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that, although the most common manifestation of BD is mucocutaneous involvement, the involvements of various systems, such as the ocular, musculoskeletal and neurological systems, are not rare and are associated with severe morbidity and mortality. Treatment modalities vary according to the systems and organs involved. Therefore, it is very important to systematically evaluate patients with BD and to arrange appropriate and effective treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]