Sarcoidosis Background Sarcoidosis enters into any physicians' differential diagnosis of a systemic illness with no obvious cause. The disease is more common in males and is ten times more frequent in American blacks. The disease may be discovered incidentally on routine chest radiographs as bilateral lung hilar lymphadenopathy. However, any organ can be involved and almost every clinical presentation has been documented depending upon the organs affected.
Treatment is usually with steroids.
The histologic hallmark of the disease is the non-caseating granuloma composed of an aggregate of epithelioid histiocytes with Langhans' type giant cells. Rarely necrosis is identified. The lung is the most common site of involvement but as mentioned, any organ may be involved. An abnormal immune response to a yet unidentified antigen is suspected as the cause. PCR studies have revealed mixed results over the possibility of a mycobacterial cause.