2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
1 Update on General Medicine
Chapter 9: Rheumatic Disorders
Sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease of unknown cause in which noncaseating granulomas are present in affected tissues. The disease occurs primarily in young adults. Although any organ can be affected, there is a tendency for hilar adenopathy and pulmonary infiltrates, as well as joint and skin involvement. Common symptoms include cough, fever, weight loss, dyspnea, arthralgias, and erythema nodosum (see Fig 9-3).
Signs and Symptoms
Although pulmonary findings are the most typical (present in about 30% of patients), extrapulmonary manifestations vary widely by ethnicity and sex. African American individuals have a greater tendency for skin, liver, and eye involvement than white individuals. Females have more frequent skin and ocular manifestations, while males have a higher incidence of cardiac involvement. Cutaneous findings are variable and include various papules, plaques, and nodules, such as the painful nodules of erythema nodosum. Arthropathy occurs in 10%–15% of affected individuals. It tends to be acute rather than chronic and can be mistakenly diagnosed as reactive arthritis.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 1 - Update on General Medicine. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.