Clinical findings in 715 patients with newly detected pulmonary sarcoidosis--results of a cooperative study in former West Germany and Switzerland. WATL Study Group. Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für die Therapie von Lungenkrankheitan

Abstract

Background and aim of work: Clinical appearance of sarcoidosis depends on the methods of case finding and geographical factors. In a further effort to clarify clinical characteristics of pulmonary sarcoidosis, we examined a larger population of consecutive pulmonary sarcoidosis cases throughout former West Germany and Switzerland.

Methods: In a prospective multicenter study from January 1982 to December 1984, 715 patients with newly-diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis were studied for their clinical appearance, roentgenological and laboratory findings and pulmonary function.

Results: The group consisted of 366 male and 349 female patients with a median age of 33 years (range 14 to 76). 35% presented with roentgenological stage I disease, 51% with stage II and 14% with stage III. Extrapulmonary manifestations were found in 16%. Angiotensin converting enzyme was elevated in 62% of the cases. Lung function tests revealed a restrictive pattern in 19% and airway obstruction in 4%; 2% showed a combined ventilation disturbance. 66% of our patients were symptomatic in contrast to reports from former East Germany, a country with mass X-ray screening where only 18 to 35% of the patients presented with symptoms and 51 to 74% were in stage I.

Conclusions: Differences between our findings and data from East Germany underline the importance of case finding methods for the patterns of clinical appearance of sarcoidosis.