Fatal haemoptysis due to pulmonary artery aneurysm in Behcet's disease

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) was described by the Turkish dermatologist, Hulusi Behcet, in 1937. The main symptoms of the disease vary according to the affected organs such as skin, mucosa, eyes, joints, gastrointestinal tract, vascular system and nervous system. For many years, the known vascular complications of BD have been attributed to thrombophlebitis. However, several reports have been published in recent years relating to cases with aneurysm and arterial occlusion. The aetiology is still unknown; however, vasculitic changes are common in all involved organs, z8 Pulmonary artery aneurysm (PAA) is uncommon in patients with BD. PAA may be bilateral and may also rupture causing sudden death due to massive haemorrhage or haemoptysis from an arteriobronchial fistula. The incidence of vascular involvement in our 183 cases with BD was 28.4% (52 cases) in the last 15 years, PAA was observed in four (2.2%) patients who are reported in this paper.