Pulmonary Sarcoidosis: Spectrum of imaging findings

Irini Blana, Demosthenes D Cokkinos, Maria Skilakaki

Abstract


Sarcoidosis is a systemic chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology, characterised by non-caseating epithelioid cell granulomas. A diagnosis of the disease requires compatible clinical and imaging findings, supported by the identification of typical lesions in at least one organ system, and the exclusion of other causes of granulomatous diseases. It has a wide spectrum of clinical and radiological manifestations; however the lung as well as mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes are involved in more than 90% of cases. For the evaluation of pulmonary sarcoidosis conventional chest radiograph remains the first imaging modality of choice and may often be sufficient to establish the diagnosis. However, the protean radiological appearance of the disorder, its ability to mimic other lung diseases as well as its complications, have rendered the use of chest CT crucial in several clinical settings. In this review we discuss the variety of chest radiography and CT findings in pulmonary sarcoidosis, typical and atypical, involving the lung parenchyma, the mediastinum, small and large airways and the pleura.


Keywords


sarcoidosis; lung; chest radiography; computed tomography; differential diagnosis

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36162/hjr.v2i4.154

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