title: Elevated D dimer in the lungs and blood of patients with sarcoidosis.
abstract: The hypothesis of this study was that D dimer, a specific degradation product of cross-linked fibrin, would be increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids of patients with sarcoidosis and that it would be related to other BAL parameters of disease activity. Eight of 10 sarcoidosis patients but none of 18 healthy volunteers had detectable BAL D dimer by enzyme immunoassay. Autoradiography revealed the presence of fibrinogen and D dimer in the BAL fluids from sarcoidosis patients. Bronchoalveolar lavage D dimer levels in sarcoidosis patients correlated with total BAL cells per milliliter, lymphocytes per milliliter, and total protein level, but not macrophages per milliliter. The D dimer in the BAL fluids from sarcoidosis patients did not correlate with D dimer in the blood. Our findings indicate that BAL D dimer parallels directly the lymphocytic alveolitis that characterizes pulmonary sarcoidosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur, GA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Staton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001345:Autoradiography; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis*; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D017565:Sarcoidosis, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; D011506:Proteins; C036309:fibrin fragment D; D005340:Fibrinogen