title: Investigation of the veins in patients with Behçet's disease with no known vascular event by Doppler ultrasonography.
abstract: In Behçet's disease, deep venous thrombosis occurs primarily in the lower extremities. Total recanalization rate is low, so thrombotic segment could be detected by imaging afterward. For disclosing vein involvement, leg swelling is commonly queried in the history taking in those patients. However, there are no data about the presence of "silent" thrombosis in patients with BD. We aimed at investigating the integrity of venous vessels in BD, without any known vascular event by using Doppler ultrasonography (DU). Patients having past events revealed in the vascular questionnaire or physical findings attributable to vascular disease were excluded. Various degree of venous insufficiency was detected in 74 patients in BD (74%), 24 out of 33 patients (72%) in AS and in 8 out of 34 (25%) in HC group. All were at the lower extremities, and there is no difference in the frequency between BD and AS, while both were significantly higher than in HC (P = 0.001, and 0.004, respectively). Six patients with BD (6%) have chronic venous thrombi at the lower extremities and none in either AS and HC. As a non-invasive method, DU of lower extremities may disclose "silent" thrombosis. Venous insufficiency in those patients should be considered cautiously as an indicator of vein involvement.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gulhane School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bunyamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kisacik
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oren
authors.forename: Timucin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasifoglu
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simsek
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pay
authors.forename: Mutlu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saglam
authors.forename: Ayhan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dinc
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000379:methods*; D014680:Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult