Varicocele and epididymitis in beḩet disease
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, cilt.30, sa.7, ss.909-913, 2011 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 30 Sayı: 7
- Basım Tarihi: 2011
- Doi Numarası: 10.7863/jum.2011.30.7.909
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.909-913
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Behcet disease, color Doppler sonography, epididymitis, sonography, varicocele
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Objective-Beḩet disease is a systemic disease with protean manifestations. Vasculitis is a hallmark of the disease and may involve arteries, veins, and capillaries. Varicocele is dilatation of the pampiniform plexus veins. We aimed to investigate the incidence of varicocele in patients with Beḩet disease. Methods-The study included 47 male patients with Beḩet disease and 31 healthy control participants. All underwent a clinical evaluation including a medical history and systemic and scrotal examinations. Subsequently, 2 investigators blinded to the clinical data performed sonographic examinations and measured pampiniform plexus vein diameters. Results-The mean age of the patients ± SD was 23.4 ± 3.2 years; disease durations ranged from 3 to 120 months (46 ± 31 months). Scrotal pain or a palpable mass was detected by clinical examination in 24 patients with Beḩet disease (51.1%) and 5 healthy participants (16.1%; P = .002). By color Doppler examination, left varicocele was diagnosed in 26 patients with Beḩet disease (55.3%) and 9 healthy participants (29%; P = .02). All patients with right varicocele also had left varicocele; that condition was detected in 10.6% (5 patients) of the Beḩet disease group and 6.4% (2 patients) of the control group (P > .05). Eight patients with Beḩet disease (17%) had epididymitis, whereas none of the healthy participants did (P= .019, Fisher exact test). Genital ulcers and erythema nodosum lesions were more common among patients with varicocele (P = .034 and .058, respectively). There were no differences in smoking, epididymitis, arthritis, uveitis, or other clinical parameters for distinguishing varicocele in patients with Beḩet disease. Conclusions-The incidence of varicocele was increased in Beḩet disease. Whether varicocele confers fertility problems in patients with Beḩet disease and the underlying mechanism for a possible association are yet to be determined. © 2011 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.