THE COURSE OF BEHCET'S DISEASE FOLLOWING COVID-19 DIAGNOSIS: A LARGE RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY/ COVID-19 TANISINI TAKIBEN BEHCET HASTALIGININ SEYRI: GENIS BIR RETROSPEKTIF KOHORT CALISMASI

Objective: Behcet's disease (BD) is a chronic vasculitic disease with mucocutaneous and systemic involvements. This study aims to examine the effects of COVID-19 on the symptoms and course of BD. Material and Method: The BD patients who were followed up in our department with a history of COVID-19 were evaluated regarding the course of infection and the course of BD post-COVID diagnosis, assessed by Behcet's Disease Activity Index (BDAI). Result: Among 449 BD patients, 68 (15.1%) had contracted COVID-19. The mean age of the patients was 42.7 [+ or -] 11.8 years of whom 63.2% (n=43) were female. While most (n=48, 70.6%) had only mucocutaneous symptoms, others also had systemic symptoms (n=20, 29.4%) during their BD course; 86.8% (n=59) had received colchicine only at the time of infection. Prior to infection, 85.3% (n=58) had been in remission (BDAI score of 0), while 14.7% (n=10) already had active BD (BDAI score between 1-3). Post-COVID-19 diagnosis, activation or exacerbation of activation was seen in 39.7% (n=27) of BD patients, as characterized by increased BDAI scores (BDAI score between 1-4). No change was recorded in 60.3% (n=41) of the patients. Disease activation in the BD patients was mostly mucocutaneous (n=21, 30.9%). Comparison of the BD patients' BDAI scores pre- and post-COVID-19 diagnosis revealed the scores to be significantly elevated (p