Macular Complications of Behcet Disease: What to Expect?

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 out 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 were 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, proper and early management of the disease is mandatory in order to minimize visual impairment.