Intracardiac thrombus in Behçet's disease: four new cases and a comprehensive literature review

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystem inflammatory disorder. Intracardiac thrombus formation (ICTF) is an uncommon but important complication of BD. To highlight recent insights into this disease, we aimed to review ICTF and other systemic involvements associated with ICTF in BD. We conducted a comprehensive review of the relevant literature in MEDLINE and EMBASE from 1966 to 2014 to analyze cumulated data about ICTF in BD. We aimed to evaluate 93 cases of BD with ICT (group 1), four of which have been recently identified and have not been discussed in the relevant literature yet, and to compare the frequency of pulmonary, venous and arterial involvements in group 1 and general Behçet population (group 2). The right heart was the most common site of ICTF in group 1. Pulmonary involvement, venous involvement (especially venous thrombosis) and arterial involvement were more frequent in group 1 than in group 2 (56 vs. 0.7 %, 42 vs. 10 % and 38 vs. 0.8 %, respectively, p < 0.0001). The diagnosis of BD should be considered if a patient presents with a mass in the right-sided cardiac chambers, even in the absence of the characteristic clinical manifestations of the illness. This approach is particularly applicable if the patient is a young man from the Mediterranean basin or the Middle East. All Behçet patients with ICTF must be investigated with thoracic computed tomography for pulmonary and arterial involvements and lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasonography for venous thrombosis, regardless of whether they are symptomatic for these systems.