Magnetic resonance evaluation of sacroiliac joint involvement in Behçet’s disease: A cross-sectional study

Objective: To determine the prevalence of sacroiliac joint (SIJ) involvement using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in Behcet’s disease (BD). Methods: This cross sectional study evaluated a total of 58 patients diagnosed with BD according to the International Criteria for Behcet’s Disease, as well as 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The demographic data of the participants and the clinical and laboratory findings of the BD patients were recorded. All subjects underwent SIJ MRI. Bone marrow edema, synovitis, capsulitis, enthesitis, subchondral sclerosis, erosion, periarticular fat deposition, and ankylosis were evaluated. The images were assessed by two blinded radiologists who specialized in MRI. Interobserver reliability was evaluated using the Fleiss’ κappa score. The images were recorded as present, absent and suspicious. Results: The study included 50 patients with BD (25 females, 25 males with a mean age of 39.7±12.2 years) and 50 healthy controls (25 females, 25 males with a mean age of 39.7±12.2 years). Of the BD patients, 4% also had musculoskeletal involvement. When analyzed using the kappa statistics, the overall kappa score for all MRI findings showed poor agreement. Its value ranges from 0.01 to 0.08. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean values of MRI images (p>0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of SIJ involvement was not different between the BD patients and the healthy controls in our study. SIJ involvement was not a characteristic of BD.