Behçet’s disease with latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Objective The aim of this study is to examine the clinical features of patients with Behcet's disease (BD) in the presence or absence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Methods This was a retrospective study of 232 consecutive patients with active BD hospitalized between October 2012 and June 2017. LTBI was diagnosed based on the positive T-SPOT.TB assay, negative clinical, and imaging examinations. Results Among the 232 patients, 68 (29.3%) had LTBI. The frequency, number, and scope of oral ulcers in the BD-LTBI group were significantly more serious than in the non-LTBI group (all P 2.0, the upper limit of normal, was higher in the rifampicin subgroup compared with the non-rifampicin subgroup (P = 0.033). Conclusion Patients with BD and LTBI had worse clinical features than those with BD without LTBI. Rifampicin might be associated with the damage to liver in BD patients combined with latent TB.