Frequency of ocular involvement in 100 cases of Behcet syndrome in Babol, North of Iran

Background: Behcet syndrome is a recurrent inflammatory disorder that frequently involves the ocular system. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of ocular involvement in cases of Behcet's disease in Babol, north of Iran. Methods: From April 2003 to December 2009, 100 cases of behcet's disease who were admitted at the Department of Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine of Babol University of Medical Sciences, in Babol, were studied. The diagnosis of the disease was performed by the Iranian criteria for the diagnosis of the behcet's disease. The demographic data, clinical manifestations as well as the frequency of ocular involvement were recorded and analyzed. Results: Sixty-one (61%) were male and 31 (31%) were female. The mean age of the male patients was 28.2 and the female patients were 27.5 years. The most common clinical findings were oral aphtose (90%) followed with ocular and genital involvement. In ten cases ocular involvement was the sole initial clinical symptom. Among the 70 cases with ocular involvement, bilateral involvement was seen in 78.6% and unilateral involvement in 21.4% cases. HLA- B5 was positive in fifty two (74.2%) cases with ocular involvement, whereas 18 (25.7%) with ocular involvement had negative HLA- B5.Conclusion: The results show that the frequency of ocular involvement in patients with behcet's disease is relatively high. Investigation of eye involvement in subjects with recurrent oral or genital ulcers is recommended.