Randomized Controlled Multicenter Study Comparing Steroid Therapy Plus Anticoagulants to Steroid Therapy Alone in Deep Venous Thrombosis of Behçet's Syndrome

In patients with Behçet's syndrome (BS), deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is thought to result from inflammation of the vessel wall rather than hyper coagulability. Post Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) is frequent especially with recurrent episodes of deep vein thrombosis and may result in leg ulcers that are very difficult to treat. Vascular involvement is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among BS patients. However, one of the most controversial issues regarding the management of BS is whether DVT should be treated with anticoagulants. Moreover, use of anticoagulants exposes patients to serious bleeding, especially in those who presents simultaneous arterial aneurysms. However, many physicians are still using anticoagulants. This is the first prospective, randomized study assessing benefits of corticosteroids associated with anticoagulant compared to that of corticosteroids alone in DVT in BS patients. It will validate or not the use of anticoagulants in those situations. It will allow a direct comparison of the safety profile of those two schemes of treatment.