Abstract
The diagnosis of sarcoidosis is complicated by its long, almost asymptomatic course, although some clinical manifestations are very typical. The classic acute type of systemic sarcoidosis is Löfgren syndrome (LS). The combination of bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy with erythema nodosum is highly specific and does not require histological verification.
Many researchers believe LS is usually a predictor of a favorable course of sarcoidosis; in its presence lesions of the lung parenchyma are significantly less common than in patients without LS. We aimed to study Löfgren syndrome in patients with sarcoidosis.
Materials and methods: From 1995 to 2020 we observed 1309 patients (534 men (40,8%) and 775 (59,2%) women) with sarcoidosis. The patients' age ranged from 18 to 79 years, with average age of men 35,4 ± 0,82 years, and women 44,6 ± 0,62 (p˂0,001). LS was detected in 219 (16,7%) patients and was significantly more common in women 20,1 ± 1,4% than in men 11,4 ± 1,4% (p˂0,001). In patients with LS, skin sarcoidosis (SS) was significantly more frequent (26,5 ± 3,0% versus 15,5 ± 1,1%; p<0,001), and also in 10,0% of cases there was a chronic course of intrathoracic sarcoidosis with periods of remission and exacerbations. After regression of erythema nodosum, every fifth patient had an exacerbation of SS, which developed in 50,0% of cases after recurrent LS, and in 83,0% - after repeated exacerbations and regressions of erythema nodosum.
Conclusions: According to our data, the presence of LS is an unfavorable prognostic sign. The number of exacerbations and relapses of the pulmonary process occurs 2,2 times more often than in patients without LS (35,8±3,2% versus 16,6±1,1%; p<0,001).
Footnotes
Cite this article as: European Respiratory Journal 2021; 58: Suppl. 65, PA709.
This abstract was presented at the 2021 ERS International Congress, in session “Prediction of exacerbations in patients with COPD”.
This is an ERS International Congress abstract. No full-text version is available. Further material to accompany this abstract may be available at www.ers-education.org (ERS member access only).
- Copyright ©the authors 2021