Background: Behçet's disease (BD) is a rare multisystemic inflammatory disease that is potentially disabling and may cause death.
Aim: To describe the characteristics of BD patients from two Chilean centers.
Patients and method: 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.