RADIOLOGICALLY-DETECTABLE SACROILIAC INVOLVEMENT IN BEHCET S DISEASE

摘要

Background: The association of Behcet’s disease (BD) and ankylosing pondylitis (AS) is still a matter of debate. Objective: As the presence of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) involvement is an essential criterion in diagnosis of AS, we decided to determine the revalence of SIJ involvement in BD and compare it with that of a control group. Patients & Methods: We randomly selected two groups of 199 BD patients and 168 non-BD cases (the controls). All cases were over 20 years of age. Standard anteroposterior radiographs of the SIJ were obtained and interpreted by two rheumatologists and a radiologist blinded to the diagnosis. To determine the severity of the condition, the following 5-point scale was employed: Normal (0), pseudo-widening (1), sclerosis (2), erosion (3), and bony fusion (4). To eliminate any doubts, only grades 3 and 4 were considered as sacroiliitis. Both groups were separately evaluated for age ( 30, and >30), and gender. Results were compared using Chi square test. Results: The groups were matched for age and sex: There were 98 (49.2%) females in BD vs. 91 (54.2%) in the control group (p=0.35). The mean?SD age was 35?8.3 years in BD and 35?10 in control group (p=1). The SIJ was involved in 9 (4.6%) patients in BD and 7 (4.2%) patients in control group (p=0.93). Comparisons between the results of the unisexual cohorts revealed no significance either (p=0.68 for males, and p=0.64 for females). The age subdivisions (under- and over-30) again showed no significant difference (p=0.96 and p=0.69 for under- and over-30 patients, respectively). Conclusion: The presence of radiographic signs of SIJ involvement is not mandatory for the diagnosis of AS.