Extrapulmonary presentation of sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease that usually has a pulmonary presentation. Extrapulmonary presentation of the disease is often unrecognized because the clinical signs ( eg, peripheral lymph nodes) and more important symptoms ( eg, renal stones or uveitis) do not usually indicate systemic disease. In three different long-term studies of patients with sarcoidosis, 1.5% of the patients presented with uveitis, 11.7% presented with peripheral lymph nodes, and 3.6% presented with renal stones; a total of 16.6% of the patients had extrapulmonary presentation of sarcoidosis. Two of the three studies were retrospective. Many patients may have skin, parotid gland, spleen, liver, central nervous system, bone, or heart presentation; 16.6% is only the tip of an iceberg. A well-conducted, prospective, long-term study could indicate that more than 30% of patients with sarcoidosis have extrapulmonary presentations of the disease.