Objective To investigate the clinical features, chest imaging manifestations, pathological changes, diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis with pleural effusion as the initial manifestation, and to analyze the possible causes of misdiagnosis, so as to help clinicians improve their understanding of sarcoidosis with pleural effusion as the initial manifestation, and reduce the rate of clinical misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. Methods The general data, clinical manifestations, imaging examinations, pathological findings and outcomes of 4 patients with sarcoidosis with pleural effusion as the first manifestation admitted to Ningxia Medical University General Hospital from January 2019 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Out of these patients, 3 were female and 1 was male, with an average age of 50.3 years. The main clinical features were cough, expectoration, chest tightness, shortness of breath and other common respiratory symptoms. Chest CT indicated right pleural effusion. After admission, closed thoracic drainage, tracheoscopy, thoracoscopy, pleural biopsy and cervical lymph node biopsy were performed to obtain pathology. Combined with imaging and pathology, diagnosis was made. After hormone therapy, symptoms and imaging were improved. Conclusions Sarcoidity-related pleural effusion is relatively rare as the first episode, with no specific clinical symptoms and no specific physical and chemical properties of pleural effusion. Non-caseous granulomatous lesions can be found pathologically, and the diagnosis needs to rely on clinical, imaging and pathological comprehensive judgment.
Objective To investigate the expression of Th17 cells in peripheral blood of patients with sarcoidosis at different stage. Methods Flow cytometry was used to detect the Th17 cells in peripheral blood of 38 patients with sarcoidosis, including 18 cases of newly diagnosed active patients with obvious symptoms such as cough, fever, fatigue and weight loss, and 20 stable cases who were followed up regularly.15 cases of healthy volunteers were enrolled as control. Serumangiotensin-converting enzyme ( SACE) of the patients with sarcoidosis was detected by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The cell classification and CD4 + /CD8 + T in the BALF of the newly diagnosed active patients were calculated. Results The expression of Th17 cells in peripheral blood in the patients with active sarcoidosis were higher than that in the sable patients and the controls [ ( 1. 59 ±0. 44) % vs. ( 0. 56 ±0. 32) % and ( 0. 49 ±0. 23) % , all P lt; 0. 05] . Th17 cells in peripheral blood in the patients with stable sarcoidosis and the controls were not different significantly ( P gt;0. 05) . The levels of SACE in the patients with active sarcoidosis were higher than that in the patients with stable sarcoidosis [ ( 56. 6 ±14. 6) IU/L vs. ( 35. 8 ±18. 3) IU/L, P lt; 0. 05) . There was not significant correlation between the Th17 cells in peripheral blood and SACE in the patients with sarcoidosis ( P gt;0. 05) . In the patients with active sarcoidosis, the Th17 cells in peripheral blood were not significantly correlated with lymphocyte percentages in BALF( P gt; 0. 05) , but significantly correlated with CD4 + /CD8 + in BALF ( r=0. 63, P lt;0. 05) .Conclusion In patients with active sarcoidosis, the increased expression of Th17 cells in peripheral blood may correlate with the activity of sarcoidosis.
Sarcoidosis is a multi-organ inflammatory disorder characterized by the presence of non-caseating granulomas primarily affecting the lungs. The pathogenesis of sarcoidosis has not been fully clarified. In recent years, studies have suggested that a variety of pathogen infections, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Propionibacterium acnes, fungi, viruses, may be related to the occurrence and progression of sarcoidosis. This article reviews the researches on sarcoidosis and pathogen infection, aiming to explore the potential role of pathogen infection in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and provide another direction for the treatment of sarcoidosis.
ObjectiveTo improve the diagnosis and treatment of multiple systemic sarcoidosis (MSS) and avoid misdiagnosis. MethodsTo analyze the diagnosis and treatment of a MSS patient misdiagnosed as lymphoma. Related literatures were also reviewed. ResultsThe patients' clinical manifestations were not specific including cough and stethocatharsis. Lung and thoracic lymph nodes were most commonly involved in MSS. MSS was characterized by symmetrical lymph nodes enlargement in the bilateral lung hilus and/or mediastinum. The enlarged lymph nodes had a clear boundary and showed homogeneous enhancement. Symmetrical fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the hilar and/or mediastinal node was a typical finding of sarcoidosis on FDG PET/CT. Mucosal inflammation and mucosal nodules could be seen in the bronchoscope. Sarcoidosis was characterized by the presence of noncaseating groanulomas histologically. Hormonal therapy was effective for MSS. ConclusionSarcoidosis is a kind of disease involving multiple systems and organs with unknown etiology. The clinical manifestation of sarcoidosis is nonspecific,so it's likely to be misdiagnosed. Imaging examination and laboratory examination are helpful to the diagnosis of MSS. The definitive diagnosis depends on the pathologic biopsy.