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Chronic Facial Sarcoidosis Including Lupus Pernio

Clinical Description and Proposed Scoring Systems

  • Original Research Article
  • Scoring System for Cutaneous Sarcoidosis
  • Published:
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background: Facial lesions including lupus pernio are often a form of chronic cutaneous sarcoidosis.

Objective: To evaluate the intra- and inter-observer consistency of objective measures of chronic facial lesions.

Method: This was a retrospective study of patients with chronic cutaneous facial lesions including lupus pernio. The lesions were evaluated using two methods.

Results: Of the 25 patients studied, 23 were women and 24 were African American. Lungs (24 patients), sinuses (11 patients), and eyes (7 patients) were also affected. The Sarcoidosis Activity and Severity Index (SASI) characterized individual areas of the face, with 95% of the observations being less than 2 points from the median. A facial SASI total gave a score for the entire face and 93.2% of the scores were within 3 points of the median.

Conclusion: Patients with sarcoidosis and chronic facial lesions often have lung, sinus, and eye involvement. The SASI is a reproducible scoring system for chronic facial lesions.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by Centocor Inc. The study was used to help establish an instrument for a subsequent trial of infliximab for sarcoidosis (manufactured by Centocor Inc.) that included all the authors of this study. No pharmaceutical agent was tested in the current study. Drs Baughman, Teirstein, and Judson have received grants for research purposes from Centocor Inc. Dr Judson has also received consultancy fees from Centocor Inc. Dr Schlenker-Herceg was an employee of Centocor Inc. at the time of the study. Dr Barnathan is currently an employee of Centocor Inc. The other authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this study.

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Correspondence to Robert P. Baughman.

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Baughman, R.P., Judson, M.A., Teirstein, A. et al. Chronic Facial Sarcoidosis Including Lupus Pernio. Am J Clin Dermatol 9, 155–161 (2008). https://doi.org/10.2165/00128071-200809030-00003

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00128071-200809030-00003

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