title: Airway obstruction in pulmonary sarcoidosis.
abstract: To determine the physiological basis of airway obstruction, we studied mechanical properties of the lung in 21 patients with various stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Forced expiratory flow at 50% vital capacity (VC) was significantly decreased in nine patients. Determining factors of the flow reduction factors of the flow reduction in addition to the decreased VC were: 1) low peripheral airway conductance in four patients; 2) loss of elastic recoil in three patients; 3) combination of 1) and 2) in two patients. These findings could be explained by a concept that in pulmonary sarcoidosis the lungs are a composite of inhomogeneously distributed normal, granulomatous, or fibrotic tissue, with or without hyperinflated tissue in various proportions.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000150:complications*; D012907:Smoking / Q000150:complications