title: [Retrospective review of 44 Chilean patients with Behçet disease].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Behçet's disease (BD) is a rare multisystemic inflammatory disease that is potentially disabling and may cause death.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the characteristics of BD patients from two Chilean centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review of the clinical records of patients with BD attended in two rheumatology services between 1985 and 2007. The "Behçet's Disease Research Committee of Japan" (BDCJ) and the "International Study Group for Behçet's Disease" (ISG) diagnostic criteria were applied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 44 cases (25 males), diagnosed as BD. The mean age at the onset of symptoms was 26+/- 12 years. According to BDCJ criteria, 13 patients had complete BD, 24 had incomplete BD and 7 had a suspected BD. Thirty two patients fulfilled the ISG criteria. Forty two patients (95%) had oral ulcers, 33 (75%) had genital ulcers and 29 (66%) had ophthalmological involvement. Eleven and three patients had symptoms of central and peripheral nervous system involvement, respectively. No gender differences were detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The clinical characteristics of these patients were similar to those described abroad, except for a higher frequency of peripheral nervous system involvement and a lower rate of arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Sección de Reumatología, Departamento de Medicina, Hospital Clínico de la Universidad de Chile, Santiago de Chile.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wurmann
authors.forename: Gonzalo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: Francisca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sabugo
authors.forename: Lilian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Solanes
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Merino
authors.forename: Juan Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Verdaguer
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villarroel
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cuchacovich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D055815:Young Adult