الفهرس 
Epidemiology
Diagnostic Imaging of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis:Only 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disorder of unknown aetiology characterized by non-caseating epithelioid cell granulomas. A minority of patients may progress to multiorgan failure. Approximately a quarter of patients with chronic sarcoidosis die due to respiratory failure. A diagnosis of sarcoidosis can be greatly substantiated by excluding other disease possibilities, using appropriate clinic-radiological, cytological or histological tissue examination. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis is incomplete without the demonstration of noncaseating granuloma EBUS-TBNA has emerged as an accurate, minimally invasive, and safe procedure for evaluating mediastinal lymphadenopathy. In patients with clinical and radiological features compatible with stages I and II sarcoidosis, EBUS-TBNA can confirm the diagnosis by demonstrating noncaseating granulomas and exclusion of other pathologies Rapid on site evaluation (ROSE) in the vast majority of cytological samples enabled us to have diagnosis on site, reducing the number of stations punctured when diagnosis was obtained or pursuing until adequate samples were retrieved. Although corticosteroids have for more than 30 yr been the mainstay of treatment for sarcoidosis, their role in the management of the disease remains uncertain. This is the result of a significant side-effect profile and an apparent lack of evidence for the ultimate improvement of outcome in treated patients. Various alternative treatments such as cyclosporine A, has been utilized. A number of patients with severe or persistent sarcoidosis require treatment with alternative agents, usually in combination with corticosteroids but sometimes alone, either in those for whom corticosteroids are contraindicated, or in those unable to tolerate the side-effects of steroids. The range of potential alternative immunosuppressive agents is wide and includes methotrexate, azathioprine, hydroxychloroquine, cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporin A, and chlorambucil, as well as agents which more specifically target TNFα, including pentoxifylline, thalidomide, infliximab and etanercept.