title: Effective Treatment of Intestinal Behçet's Disease with Long-Term, Low-Dose Clarithromycin.
abstract: A 51-year-old man was referred for body weight loss and lower right abdominal pain. Total colonoscopy revealed discrete and round ulceration at the ileocecal valve, and he was diagnosed with intestinal Behçet's disease (BD). By treatment with glucocorticoid, colchicine and salazosulfapyridine, the symptoms and ulceration were improved, but cessation of glucocorticoid resulted in relapse of ulceration at the terminal ileum. Long-term, low-dose treatment with clarithromycin (CAM) was implemented for chronic respiratory infections. Furthermore, we expected that this CAM treatment would also be effective in BD. During this long-term, low-dose treatment with CAM, discrete ulceration at the terminal ileum was never revealed by follow-up total colonoscopy once or twice per year for 7 years. No reports have described the effectiveness of this treatment in patients with intestinal BD; however, we confirm that long-term treatment with low-dose CAM might have clinical benefits for patients with intestinal BD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Japan Self Defense Forces Central Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukiya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hakozaki
authors.forename: Keiji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitani
authors.forename: Chizuko
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Hisato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terada
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobari
keywords: Glucocorticoid; Intestinal Behçet's disease; Long-term, low-dose clarithromycin; Macrolide