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Neurotological status in Behçet’s disease and its ophthalmological correlates

Y A Bayazt

C Everekliolu

N Krtak

N Bayazt

M Kanlkama

S nalöz

¹ Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey
² Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
³ Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
⁴ Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
⁵ Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Y A Bayazt
Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey; bayazity{at}yahoo.com

Objective: To assess neurotological status and its ophthalmological correlates in Behçet’s disease.

Study design: A cross sectional study in which 17 patients with Behçet’s disease and 13 healthy controls were included.

Patients and methods: The patients were divided into two groups: those with and without end stage ocular involvement. Neurotological status was evaluated with audiological tests (pure tone and speech audiometry, tympanometry, short increment sensitivity index, tone decay, and evoked response audiometry), and Dix-Halpike positional testing.

Results: The positional test was normal. The audiological test results of the patients with and without end stage ocular involvement were not significantly different (p>0.05). A sloping audiogram with bilateral symmetric and mild sensorineural hearing loss was the main audiogram obtained. There was no relationship between the presence or absence of the end stage ocular involvement and the otological parameters studied excluding I–III interval on evoked response audiometry (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Although the main underlying pathogenetic factor in Behçet’s disease is the autoimmune vasculitis, the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurological and ocular damage may be different. Alternatively, the differential involvement of certain organ systems may not reflect the nature of the disease process itself, but rather the manner in which each organ responds to injury.

Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; ERA, evoked response audiometry; PTA, pure tone average; SDS, speech discrimination score; SISI, short increment sensitivity index; SRT, speech reception threshold

Keywords: Behçet’s disease; audiometry; ocular involvement; evoked responses