[Histologic diagnosis of sarcoidosis]

Abstract

In Japan, elderly patients with sarcoidosis, cardiac sarcoidosis and severe pulmonary sarcoidosis patients have been increased. The patients with ocular manifestations without intrathoracic involvement have been also increased and it is, however, difficult to establish the diagnosis and to confirm such patients as sarcoidosis. To detect the histological findings such as epithelioid cell granuloma is gold standard in diagnosis. Transbronchial lung biopsy, scalene node biopsy, muscle biopsy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery are useful procedure for getting the tissue samples. We performed TBLB in 655 patients with clinical features of sarcoidosis. In 125 out of 293 patients with stage 0, 229 out of 272 with stage I, 66 out of 70 with stage II and 19 out of 20 with stage III patients, epithelioid cell granuloma was found. The effort to getting proper tissue samples of suspected sarcoidosis is important.