Oral and Genital Ulcers in Behçet’s Disease
A 31-year-old man presented to an outpatient clinic with a 5-day history of oral and genital ulcers. He had a 2-year history of recurrent oral and genital lesions, and 6 months before presentation, erythema nodosum had developed on his legs. Tests for herpes simplex virus and syphilis were negative. There was no evidence of inflammatory bowel disease or pulmonary disease. A diagnosis of Behçet’s disease was made on the basis of the recurrent oral and genital ulcers and erythema nodosum. No other manifestations of Behçet’s disease, such as ocular inflammation, arthritis, pseudofolliculitis, venous thrombosis, or large arterial vessel disease, were present, and a pathergy test was negative. Behçet’s disease is a relapsing inflammatory condition, with painful oral and genital ulcers being the most common clinical manifestations. The patient was treated with colchicine and oral glucocorticoids and had resolution of the oral and genital lesions 3 weeks after the initiation of therapy. He remained free of recurrence 14 months after treatment.
