title: Sarcoidosis and Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Cases.
abstract: Association between sarcoidosis and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is rare with few reported cases. We sought to systematically review the published cases of APS with sarcoidosis to better characterize the demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment, and the outcome of this association. Systematic electronic search for case report, case series, and related articles published until May 2014 was carried out and relevant data were extracted and analyzed. Four cases of APS with sarcoidosis were identified exclusively in females. These cases were seen in the sixth decade of life. Pulmonary embolism and central retinal artery occlusion were the presenting thrombotic events. All the patients were treated with lifelong anticoagulation with warfarin. During the median follow-up period of 5.5 months, additional thrombotic events were not observed. Although rare, sarcoidosis may be associated with APS. Further reporting of the cases will help to better establish this association, elucidate pathogenesis, and define clinical characteristics and outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Reading Health System, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Ranjan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Reading Health System, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Raju
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khanal
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Reading Health System, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Madan Raj
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Aryal
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
authors.forename: Smith
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giri
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Reading Health System, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Paras
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karmacharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Rapid City Regional Hospital, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Basanta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pathak
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, College of Dental Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Upasana
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Acharya
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
authors.forename: Vijaya Raj
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Bhatt
keywords: Antiphospholipid syndrome; association; sarcoidosis; systematic review