title: Prediction of therapeutic response in steroid-treated pulmonary sarcoidosis. Evaluation of clinical parameters, bronchoalveolar lavage, gallium-67 lung scanning, and serum angiotensin-converting enzyme levels.
abstract: To find a pretreatment predictor of steroid responsiveness in pulmonary sarcoidosis we studied 21 patients before and after steroid treatment by clinical evaluation, pulmonary function tests, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), gallium-67 lung scan, and serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) level. Although clinical score, forced vital capacity (FVC), BAL percent lymphocytes (% lymphs), quantitated gallium-67 lung uptake, and SACE levels all improved with therapy, only the pretreatment BAL % lymphs correlated with the improvement in FVC (r = 0.47, p less than 0.05). Pretreatment BAL % lymphs of greater than or equal to 35% predicted improvement in FVC of 10/11 patients, whereas among 10 patients with BAL % lymphs less than 35%, 5 patients improved and 5 deteriorated. Clinical score, pulmonary function parameters, quantitated gallium-67 lung uptake, and SACE level used alone, in combination with BAL % lymphs or in combination with each other, did not improve this predictive value. We conclude that steroid therapy improves a number of clinical and laboratory parameters in sarcoidosis, but only the pretreatment BAL % lymphs are useful in predicting therapeutic responsiveness.
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Hollinger
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Staton
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Fajman
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gilman
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Pine
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Check
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000097:blood; D011379:Prognosis; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013256:Steroids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation; D014797:Vital Capacity
chemical_list: D005710:Gallium Radioisotopes; D013256:Steroids; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A