A STUDY OF 17 PATIENTS WITH PULMONARY SARCOIDOSIS IN MASHAD

Thirty patients with bilateral lymph node enlargement with or without parenchymal infiltrates on the chest x- ray suspected to have sarcoidosis were studied between June 1980 and December 1989 in our institution. Eleven of these patients who were free of parenchymal infiltrates did not have a biopsy performed and the diagnosis of sarcoidosis was made based on self-limited regression and clearing of the chest X-ray findings. However, these cases Were excluded from our study along With two other cases which upon transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) failed to show the disease. Seventeen of our cases had sarcoidosis, fourteen proven by TBLB, two by skin biopsy and one by parotid gland biopsy. Our study shows that sarcoidosis is not a rare disease in IRAN. TBLB is a good way to diagnose sarcoidosis especially when parenchymal involvement is present on the chest X-ray. Although stage I of the disease was more common in our series, it is probable that this is a false findingimd if TBLB were repeated more cases of stage III of the disease would be found.