Behçet's Disease-related Budd–Chiari Syndrome Successfully Managed with anti-TNF Antibody: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) is multisystemic vasculitis with heterogeneous clinical manifestations. We describe the case of a 26-year-old man who presented with Budd–Chiari syndrome (BCS) related to BD. The patient received infliximab (IFX) due to the severity of vascular involvement. Subsequently, after IFX therapy, hospital-acquired pneumonia, trapped lung, and fungal infection of the lung and central nervous system developed as complications. The patient benefited from a second course of IFX and clinical remission was achieved following early identification and treatment of complications. Data on the presentation and prognosis of BCS related to BD are extremely limited. Our case report supports the growing evidence that anti-TNF antibody is a promising treatment for BD-related BCS.

Intestinal Behçet's disease: A review of clinical diagnosis and treatment

“…One manifests as mucosal inflammation and ulceration triggered by neutrophilic venulitis, while the other involves ischemic injury caused by vasculitis[ 14 ]. Characterized by diverse, fluctuating courses, repeated remissions and relapses[ 15 ], intestinal BD can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract[ 16 ] and potentially involve extraintestinal organs such as the liver[ 17 ], pancreas[ 18 ], or spleen[ 19 ]. Notably, the onset of intestinal BD symptoms typically lags behind those of extragastrointestinal manifestations[ 20 ].…”