A new Mucocutaneous Activity Index for Behçet's disease

CER7474
2014 Vol.32, N°4 ,Suppl.84
PI 0080, PF 0086
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PMID: 25068759 [PubMed]

Received: 05/04/2014
Accepted : 20/06/2014
In Press: 17/07/2014
Published: 30/09/2014

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly accepted to be major domains in chronic disorders. The aim of this study was to develop a patient-derived disease activity index in Beh-çet`s disease (BD).
METHODS:
One hundred and seventy-seven BD patients (M/F: 69/108) were included in the study. Data were collected by clinical examination and a questionnaire regarding a Mucocutaneous Index (MI) with genital ulcer activity (GI), erythema nodosum activity (EI) and the composite index (CI) for oral ulcers, as subscales of it. Self-reported treatment evaluation was carried out as criterion validity. Patients whose symptoms completely disappeared or decreased significantly, were categorised as `improved group`, others were classified as `non-improved group`.
RESULTS:
Among the study group, 79.7% of the patients (n=141) were active, whereas 20.3% were inactive (n=36). Scores of CI, GI, EI and MI score were 0±0 in inactive ones, whereas scores were 5.65±2.36 for CI, 0.81±2.34 for GI, 0.91±2.35 for EI and 6.25±5.1 for MI in actives (p=0.000 for all). MI score was significantly higher in `non-improved group` (65.5%) compared to `improved group` (34.5%) (p<0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS:
The mucocutaneous activity index may help decision-making process for treatment strategies in BD patients.