Gastrointestinal Involvement in Behçet Disease

Abstract

Behçet disease (BD) is a variable vessel vasculitis that can involve several organs and systems. Gastrointestinal (GI) involvement has an acute exacerbating course with ulcers, most commonly in the ileocolonic area. These ulcers can be large and deep, causing perforation and massive bleeding. This article highlights the current knowledge on the epidemiology, clinical findings, diagnosis, and management of GI involvement of BD, with emphasis on recent findings.

Keywords: Antirheumatic agents; Behçet syndrome; Colonoscopy; Epidemiology; Gastrointestinal diseases; Intestinal diseases; Mouth diseases; TNF inhibitors.