The Behcet’s Disease: An Uncommon Cause of Venous Thrombosis in the Tropical Area: 10 Cases

Abstract

Introduction: The Behcet’s disease is deemed to be scarce in Black Africa where data are still scattered. The purpose of our study is to describe the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinic and evolutive particularities of the patients whose presenting symptoms of the Behcet’s diseases were a venous thrombosis. Patients and Methods : It was a descriptive, multicenter, and cross-sectional study lasting 15 months. We brought together all the cases of the Behcet’s disease revealed by venous thrombosis. The diagnosis was based on clinical criteria of the international group of study of the Behcet’s disease in 2007. Results: We have grouped 10 revealing thrombosis cases of the Behcet’s diseases during our study period. The average age was 34. The average wait period between the appearances of the early symptoms and the diagnosis of the very disease was 30 months. The admission motives were the abdominal pain (2 cases), a thrombophlebitis of the lower limb (2 cases), headaches (1 case), coma (1 case), a thrombophlebitis of the upper limb (3 cases). The thrombotic symptoms were exclusively venous-located. The seats of the thrombosis were the vena cava superior in 30% of the cases, the vena cava inferior in 20% of the cases, the veins of the lower limb in 20% of the cases, the cerebral vein in 20% of the cases, and the auxiliary vein in 10% of the cases. The treatment of the deep venous thrombosis consisted in all the cases of an effective anticoagulation associated with the colchicine. Primarily, the corticotherapy with a high dose was used in all the patients. One of them in the comatose stage, manifesting both cerebral thrombophlebitis and aseptic meningitis, had died. Conclusion: Behcet’s disease is a disease of the young adult, but it must be evoked even in old age, with a view to appropriate management, in order to avoid the complications of the disease. Although it is rare in our regions, it should be sought in the etiological assessment of venous thrombosis whatever the location.