Sarcoidosis: a journey through 50 years

From an association of nearly 50 years, the author had diagnosed biopsy proven 200 cases of sarcoidosis in Eastern India during the past three decades. It appears that most of these cases follow a distinct clinical pattern and presentation. The clinical course and prognosis differ considerably from that seen in Caucasians, Afro-Americans, South-African Bantus and Japanese. Males, above 40 years, coming largely from atopic and wealthier section of society (a particular business community with physicians, nurses with their families and other professionals). Patients present with constitutional symptoms (97%) like slow unrecognized fever with little malaise (fever-malaise dissociation in 70%), arthralgia (61%) or lone-myalgia (13%), appreciable loss of weight (33%), irritability, anorexia, respiratory symptoms (93%) like cough, dyspnea, etc., hepatomegaly (43.5%), splenomegaly (32.5%), lymphadenopathy (22%) with raised ESR (91%), hypergammaglobulinaemia (41.5%), hypercalciuria (40.5%), raised serum angiotensin converting enzyme (SACE) in 70.5% advance disease in chest radiograph (68%), positive 67-gallium scan and clinico-radiological dissociation in 81% (alarming looking chest radiograph with few physical signs). Course and prognosis also differ from the West. A different treatment schedule, avoiding oral prednisolone, has been found quite effective.