Macular Complications of Behcet Disease: What to Expect?

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the rate of incidence and the most common type of macular complications in patients with Behcet disease. Methods: In this monocentric retrospective clinical study we examined all patients diagnosed with Behcet disease between April 2018 and April 2022 (150 patients). Each individual would undergo a complete ophthalmological examination, a fundus retinography, OCT scan and fluorescein angiography. Results: 54 patients of 150 presented a macular complication (36%). The macular involvement was bilateral in 49 patients. 60% of patients presented with an initial best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of equal or less than 1/10. The most common types of maculopathy found in our study was cystoid macular edema (60.4% of patients), macular degeneration (32%), macular hole (5.3%) and serous retinal detachment/epimacular membrane (2.3%). Conclusion: Macular involvement is very common in Behcet syndrome evolution and is responsible for severe and, most often, irreversible sight loss. Therefore a proper and early management of the disease is mandatory in order to minimize visual impairment.