Sarcoid granulomatous interstitial nephritis and sarcoid abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by chronic noncaseating epitheloid granulomatous inflammation with tissue destruction [1,2]. Renal involvement affects 20% of patients with sarcoidosis [1,2] and can be found in patients with no other localizations of the disease [3]. A common cause of renal dysfunction is hypercalcaemia and hypercalciuria leading to nephrocalcinosis [2]. Granulomatous interstitial nephritis (GIN) is also a cause of renal dysfunction, in which the clinical picture and laboratory evidence of tubular defects point to tubulo-interstitial nephritis [4]. Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease, affecting many organs. However, large vessel involvement such as aortic aneurysms due to sarcoidosis are rare, and only a few papers have reported aortic aneurysms complicating sarcoidosis [5–7]. We report a case of renal sarcoidosis complicated with saccular abdominal aortic aneurysms, confirmed by histology of the surgically resected aortic wall.