Clinical Profile of 327 patients with Sarcoidosis in India: An Ambispective Cohort Study in a Tuberculosis (TB) Endemic Population

INTRODUCTION: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease with a varied clinical presentation. We describe the clinical characteristics of patients with sarcoidosis from a tuberculosis (TB) endemic setting. METHODS: We performed an analysis of the sarcoidosis database at a tertiary care facility in North India. RESULTS: Of the 327 patients, 50.8% were male, with a mean age of 42.8 years (range: 16–70 years). Females were significantly older. 42.6% had comorbidities, of which diabetes (17.1%) was most common. More than half (57.1%) were obese. Serum angiotensin-converting enzyme levels were elevated in 186 (57.9%). Eleven (3.8%) had hypercalcemia, while hypercalciuria was present in 54 (31.7%). The majority (89.9%) were tuberculin skin test negative (<10 mm induration), while 71.9% were tuberculin anergic. 47.7% had normal spirometry, while a restrictive impairment was the most common abnormality (44.6%). Obstruction on spirometry was present in 8.3%. Nearly half (160, 49%) had involvement of an extrapulmonary site. Most patients were (96%) symptomatic. Cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, and fever were the predominant symptoms. A majority had Stage 1 (47.7%) sarcoidosis. Two hundred and eighty-seven (87.8%) patients underwent bronchoscopy or endosonographic (endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration [EBUS-TBNA] or transesophageal bronchoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration [EUS-B-FNA]) sampling. A histopathological diagnosis with the demonstration of granulomas was achieved in 90.8%. The diagnostic yield of EBUS-TBNA/EUS-B-FNA was 77.4%. In 13.5% of patients, necrotizing granulomas were present in tissue samples. CONCLUSION: The clinical profile of patients with sarcoidosis in TB endemic settings has certain differences from nonendemic populations. Bronchoscopy and endosonography allow a confident diagnosis in the majority of patients.