Diagnosing Behçet's disease in the presence of pulmonary artery aneurysm and systemic symptoms: A case report

Abstract

Behçet's disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder that often presents with a triad of uveitis, oral aphthous ulcers, and genital ulcerations, along with systemic manifestations such as vascular involvement. We report a case of a 36-year-old male with a significant smoking history who presented with recurrent hemoptysis and a progressive cough, leading to the diagnosis of Behçet's disease. Physical examination and imaging studies revealed aphthous and genital ulcerations, erythematous nodules, and a pulmonary artery aneurysm. Elevated inflammatory markers supported the diagnosis and treatment with methylprednisolone and infliximab resulted in clinical improvement. The management of pulmonary artery aneurysm in Behçet's disease includes both medical and interventional strategies, with endovascular interventions like coil embolization being crucial for managing life-threatening hemoptysis or aneurysm rupture.

Keywords: Behçet’s disease; pulmonary artery aneurysm; recurrent hemoptysis.

Figure 1.

Admission chest X-ray demonstrated right-sided hilar nodular infiltration of the lung.

Figure 2.

Depicts a saccular aneurysm measuring 3 cm in diameter, originating from the descending branch of the right pulmonary artery (proximal segment of the right lower lobe branch).