Hospitalization for patients with sarcoidosis: 1979-2000

Sarcoidosis is a multi-system granulomatous disease of unknown etiology with significant racial and gender differences in disease severity, incidence, and prevalence. Primarily treated in outpatients, limited information is available on hospital outcomes in patients with sarcoidosis. The National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) was analyzed over a 22-year period to determine trends in hospitalization and the impact of concurrent comorbidities.

Secondary analysis was done of the NHDS, a national survey of inpatient medical care for short stays in nonfederal facilities.

There were a total of 750 million hospitalizations over this 22-year period, with 593,455 (0.08%) hospitalizations with a diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The number of hospitalizations increased from 22,650 in 1979 to 39,964 in 2000, and the age-adjusted rate increased from 108 per 100,000 in 1979 to 146 per 100,000 in 2000. Mean rates of hospitalization were 2.3 times higher for females than males and nine times higher for African-Americans. The mean age of patients increased over this period, particularly for white females. Cardiopulmonary diagnoses were the most frequent concurrent comorbidities. Mortality was low with an overall mortality rate of 2.3%.

Sarcoidosis hospitalizations have increased over this time period. Hospitalization rates are highest among women and African-Americans and are frequently associated with comorbid diseases.