From the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract: (4678 Views)
Thirty patients with bilateral lymph node enlargement with or without
parenchymal infiltrates on the chest x- ray suspected to have sarcoidosis were
studied between June 1980 and December 1989 in our institution. Eleven of
these patients who were free of parenchymal infiltrates did not have a biopsy
performed and the diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made based on self-limited
regression and clearing of the chest X-ray findings. However, these cases
Were excluded from our study along With two other cases which upon
transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) failed to show the disease. Seventeen
of our cases had sarcoidosis, fourteen proven by TBLB, two by skin biopsy
and one by parotid gland biopsy. Our study shows that sarcoidosis is not a
rare disease in IRAN. TBLB is a good way to diagnose sarcoidosis especially
when parenchymal involvement is present on the chest X-ray.
Although stage I of the disease was more common in our series, it is
probable that this is a false findingimd if TBLB were repeated more cases of
stage III of the disease would be found.