title: Varicocele and epididymitis in Behcet disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Behçet disease is a systemic disease with protean manifestations. Vasculitis is a hallmark of the disease and may involve arteries, veins, and capillaries. Varicocele is dilatation of the pampiniform plexus veins. We aimed to investigate the incidence of varicocele in patients with Behçet disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 47 male patients with Behçet disease and 31 healthy control participants. All underwent a clinical evaluation including a medical history and systemic and scrotal examinations. Subsequently, 2 investigators blinded to the clinical data performed sonographic examinations and measured pampiniform plexus vein diameters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the patients ± SD was 23.4 ± 3.2 years; disease durations ranged from 3 to 120 months (46 ± 31 months). Scrotal pain or a palpable mass was detected by clinical examination in 24 patients with Behçet disease (51.1%) and 5 healthy participants (16.1%; P = .002). By color Doppler examination, left varicocele was diagnosed in 26 patients with Behçet disease (55.3%) and 9 healthy participants (29%; P = .02). All patients with right varicocele also had left varicocele; that condition was detected in 10.6% (5 patients) of the Behçet disease group and 6.4% (2 patients) of the control group (P > .05). Eight patients with Behçet disease (17%) had epididymitis, whereas none of the healthy participants did (P = .019, Fisher exact test). Genital ulcers and erythema nodosum lesions were more common among patients with varicocele (P = .034 and .058, respectively). There were no differences in smoking, epididymitis, arthritis, uveitis, or other clinical parameters for distinguishing varicocele in patients with Behçet disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of varicocele was increased in Behçet disease. Whether varicocele confers fertility problems in patients with Behçet disease and the underlying mechanism for a possible association are yet to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiology, Gulhane School of Medicine, Etlik, 06018 Ankara, Turkey. droyilmazrad@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Sedat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Bunyamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kisacik
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aydogdu
authors.forename: Yalcin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
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: D001528:Behcet Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004823:Epididymitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D014646:Varicocele / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D055815:Young Adult