New observations on pulmonary function changes in sarcoidosis.

Abstract

Respiratory tract involvement occurs at some time during the course of most patients with sarcoidosis. There are many articles on lung function impairment in sarcoidosis, but the definite, unique guideline considering the correlation between the clinical, radiologic, and biochemical findings of the disease is lacking. During the last few years, most of the literature has focused on follow-up studies, presenting primarily the effects of the treatment on lung function impairment in patients with sarcoidosis. This study focuses on airflow impairment, diffusion impairment, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in sarcoidosis. The topic has already been explored, but this time the authors emphasize lung function impairment and its correlation with the course of the disease. Considering the course of sarcoidosis, a significantly higher number of patients with diffusion impairment have the chronic form of the disease. The bronchial challenge test (BCT) was performed in patients with chronic sarcoidosis at the time they experienced relapse of disease activity. A high number of patients with positive BCT is significant in light of their disease. Further analyses, not only functional, but immunologic, are necessary to examine the potential correlation between positive BCT and the activity of sarcoidosis.