title: Extrapulmonary involvement in patients with sarcoidosis and comparison of routine laboratory and clinical data to pulmonary involvement.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with pulmonary and pulmonary plus extrapulmonary sarcoidosis differ in symptom severity and health status impairment. To date there is no information on differences in clinical and laboratory parameters between these phenotypes and limited information on extrapulmonary involvement in Czech sarcoidosis patients exists.
  
  
  METHODS
  We therefore compared clinical data (age, gender, organ involvement, lung function tests) and laboratory data (blood counts, bronchoalveolar fluid (BAL) cellular profile, serum levels of CRP, SACE, sIL-2R, neopterin) between patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis (n=107) and those with pulmonary plus extrapulmonary sarcoidosis (n=54).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis was diagnosed in 33% of patients, mostly affecting lymph nodes and skin and having hypercalciuria. There was no difference in the prevalence of extrapulmonary sarcoidosis between genders. Patients with extrapulmonary sarcoidosis were older and mostly non-smokers when compared to those with limited pulmonary form. X-ray Stage I and erythema nodosum were less frequent in extrapulmonary disease. Serum levels of CRP, SACE, sIL-2R and neopterin and BAL cellular profile did not differ between both phenotypes. We observed lower platelets, FEV1, VC, and BAL CD19+ in females with extrapulmonary involvement than in those with pulmonary disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Affected lymph nodes, skin and hypercalciuria were the most common in sarcoidosis patients with extrapulmonary involvement. Pulmonary sarcoidosis did not differ in clinical and routine laboratory parameters from pulmonary plus extrapulmonary sarcoidosis. Observation of low platelets, VC, FEV1 and BAL CD19+ in females with extrapulmonary sarcoidosis needs further verification in larger cohort.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University Olomouc and University Hospital Olomouc, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zurkova
authors.forename: Vitezslav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kolek
authors.forename: Tereza
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomankova
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kriegova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers; D018893:Bronchoalveolar Lavage; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers