Table 26-7  Comparison of ocular complications in patients with ocular Behçet’s disease over three decades. (Reproduced with permission from Kump et al. Behcet’s disease: Comparing 3 decades of treatment response at the National Eye Institute. Can J Opthalmol 2008;43:468.)

Reiter’s syndrome they can have heaped-up edges.36 Some patients can provoke the appearance of these lesions by eating certain foods, whereas Wray and colleagues37 have shown that trauma to the oral mucosa can cause them to appear, strikingly reminiscent of the prick test.

Skin lesions

Erythema nodosum-like lesions are frequently noted on the anterior surface of the legs (Fig. 26-3) but can be seen on the face, neck, buttocks, and elsewhere. These lesions involute without ulceration after several weeks.

Acne-like lesions or folliculitis are also common dermatologic lesions. They can appear on the back and face and are histologically identical to those of the ‘typical’ disorder. Thrombophlebitis is found usually in the extremities. This finding surely denotes a more general vascular disease that

Figure 26-3.  Examination of the peripheral extremities is important in evaluating patients with Behçet’s disease. Just below this patient’s ankle (which was painful) is an area of erythema nodosum.

can be life-threatening (discussed later). The thrombophlebitis in the extremities can be migratory and can also follow an injection or the taking of a blood sample.

Cutaneous hypersensitivity is a characteristic feature of Behçet’s disease. Dermatographs can be observed in onethird to one-half of patients. Scratching the skin with a needle or taking a blood sample often results in a pustule at