Discussion
Diagnosis With Brief Discussion
- Diagnosis
- Sarcoidosis (with progression from stage II to stage III)
- Radiologic Findings
- Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease of unknown etiology with variable presentation, prognosis, and progression. At diagnosis, about 50% of patients are asymptomatic, 25% complain of cough or dyspnea, and 25% have skin lesions or eye symptoms. Bilateral hilar adenopathy is the most common radiographic finding. Other characteristic findings include interstitial lung disease, occasional calcification of affected lymph nodes, and pleural effusion and thickening. Because the lungs and thoracic lymph nodes are affected in 90% of patients with sarcoidosis, clinical staging is based on the pattern of chest radiographic findings: stage 0 (5-10%), normal chest radiograph; stage I (50%), lymphadenopathy only; stage II (25-30%), lymphadenopathy and parenchymal disease; stage III (15%), parenchymal disease only; and stage IV, pulmonary fibrosis. Although most cases of sarcoidosis either regress or remain stable, 20% progress to pulmonary fibrosis. In general, pulmonary function worsens with increasing stage of disease, but staging does not necessarily reflect the severity of pulmonary function abnormalities.
- Brief Review
- References
- Keywords
- Lung, Mediastinum, Non-infectious inflammation, Sarcoidosis, Sarcoidosis (with progression from stage II to stage III)