POS0921 CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JAPANESE BEHCET’S DISEASE PATIENTS WITH ARTHRITIS
Authors: K. Sugihara, R. Wakiya, S. Nakashima, H. Shimada, T. Miyagi, Y. Ushio, M. Mizusaki, R. Kagawa, H. Yamaguchi, H. Dobashi
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Arthritis is positioned as one of the main symptoms in Behcet's disease (BD), and it is a frequent symptom that is observed in about 57% of patients in Japan. Arthritis associated with BD is considered important domain affecting the patient QOL same as oral ulcers. However, few reports have compared the clinical symptoms and QOL of BD patients with and without arthritis [1,2]. <h3>Objectives:</h3> This study aims to clarify the correlation between arthritis and other clinical manifestations of BD and how arthritis affects the patient QOL in Japanese patients with BD. <h3>Methods:</h3> This was a retrospective study. Fifty-three BD patients treated at Kagawa University Hospital for more than 6 months and who visited the hospital from January 2022 to February 2023 were included in this retrospective study. All patients were 18 years of age or older and met the International Criteria for Behcet's disease. We divided these patients into with (Arthritis group) or without arthritis (Non-arthritis group), and evaluated clinical symptoms, disease activity, and patient QOL. Patient's global assessment (PGA), Evaluator's global assessment (EGA) and Behcet's disease current activity form (BDCAF) were used as indices of disease activity. To evaluate disease activity related to lesions other than arthritis, BDCAF excluding arthritis items was also calculated. Behcet's disease quality of life scale (BDQOL) was used to assess patient QOL. We used the Mann–Whitney U test to compare these data between two groups. All P values were two-sided, and a P value of &lt;0.05 was considered significant. <h3>Results:</h3> Arthritis was present in 49.1% of BD patients enrolled in this study. No significant difference in patient background was observed between two groups. In Arthritis group, arthritis activity evaluated by SDAI, CDAI, and DAS-28CRP was low to moderate (9.7; IQR 5.9-12.7, 9.4; IQR 5.9-12.0 and 2.8; IQR2.3-3.4, respectively). The frequency of oral ulcers and skin lesions was significantly higher in Arthritis group than in Non-arthritis group (p=0.0092 and p=0.0483, respectively). Among the skin domain, papulopustular lesion tended to be observed more frequently in Arthritis group. EGA and BDCAF were significantly higher in Arthritis group (p=0.0198 and &lt;0.0001, respectively). BDCAF was also significantly higher in Arthritis group even when comparing items excluding arthritis (p=0.0004). PGA and BDQOL tended to be higher in Arthritis group, but were not statistically significantly different than in Non-arthritis group. <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Japanese BD patients with arthritis were complicated with oral ulcer and skin lesions more frequently. In addition, Japanese BD patients with arthritis tended to have high disease activity and low QOL, even if the activity arthritis was low to moderate. Because this study was a small, single-center and observational study, further research is needed to clarify the relationship between clinical characteristics and QOL in BD patients. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Tunc R, et al. Target organ associations in Turkish patients with Behçet's disease: a cross sectional study by exploratory factor analysis. J Rheumatol. 2002 Nov;29(11):2393-6. [2] Soejima Y, et al. Changes in the proportion of clinical clusters contribute to the phenotypic evolution of Behçet's disease in Japan. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Feb 1;23(1):49. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>