Recurrent aphthous stomatitis in Behcet's disease: Clinical features and correlation with systemic disease expression and severity

Ilan Krause*, Yitzhak Rosen, Ilana Kaplan, Gai Milo, Daniela Guedj, Yair Molad, Abraham Weinberger

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Behcet's disease (BD) is a multisystem disease, in which recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a universal finding. We studied the expression of RAS in patients with BD, and the correlation between major or minor RAS and systemic expression and severity of the disease. Thirty-five patients with BD were studied, of whom 13 (37%) had major, 21 (60%) had minor and one (3%) had herpetiform RAS. The frequency of major RAS was significantly higher compared with a control group of patients with idiopathic RAS (37% vs 9%, P<0.05). The BD patients with major RAS had significantly more relapses of oral ulceration in a year, higher numbers of oral ulcers per relapse, and longer duration of aphthous episodes, compared with patients with minor RAS. Oral ulcers also appeared at a significantly younger age in patients with major than with minor RAS. However, the systemic expression of the disease, as well as the disease severity score, were similar in patients with major and minor RAS. The results of this study indicate that major RAS is common in patients with BD, and is associated with a more severe, repeated and prolonged oral disease. Nevertheless, the presence of major RAS in BD does not predict a more severe systemic illness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)193-196
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Oral Pathology and Medicine
Volume28
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1999

Keywords

  • Behcet's disease
  • Disease spectrum
  • Recurrent aphthous stomatitis
  • Severity

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Recurrent aphthous stomatitis in Behcet's disease: Clinical features and correlation with systemic disease expression and severity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this