Abstract
Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of undetermined etiology characterized by a variable clinical presentation and disease course. Although clinical granulomatous inflammation may occur within any organ system, more than 90% of sarcoidosis patients have lung disease. Sarcoidosis is considered an interstitial lung disease that is frequently characterized by restrictive physiologic dysfunction on pulmonary function tests. However, sarcoidosis also involves the airways (large and small), causing obstructive airways disease. It is one of a few interstitial lung diseases that affects the entire length of the respiratory tract – from the nose to the terminal bronchioles – and causes a broad spectrum of airways dysfunction. This article examines airway dysfunction in sarcoidosis. The anatomical structure of the airways is the organizational framework for our discussion. We discuss sarcoidosis involving the nose, sinuses, nasal passages, larynx, trachea, bronchi and small airways. Common complications of airways disease, such as, atelectasis, fibrosis, bullous leions, bronchiectasis, cavitary lesions and mycetomas, are also reviewed.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Notes
Reprinted with permission from Citation[91]. © College of American Pathologists (2010).