Abdominal lymphadenopathy in sarcoidosis

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Internal Medicine
• Pulmonology

Background:

• Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disease.
• Abdominal involvement in sarcoidosis is not well-characterized, particularly extensive lymphadenopathy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the incidence and presentation of abdominal adenopathy in patients with sarcoidosis.
• To highlight the utility of imaging modalities in diagnosing abdominal sarcoidosis.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of medical records for 370 sarcoidosis patients.
• Analysis of abdominal computerized tomographic (CT) and/or ultrasound (US) examinations in 32 patients.
• Correlation of abdominal findings with chest radiography.

Main Results:

• Two patients presented with extensive abdominal adenopathy, diagnosed via CT and US respectively.
• Both patients with extensive adenopathy had characteristic chest radiographic findings of sarcoidosis.
• Other abdominal findings included hepatosplenomegaly (n=5), isolated hepatomegaly (n=3), and isolated splenomegaly (n=3).

Conclusions:

• Extensive abdominal adenopathy is a rare but previously unsuspected manifestation of sarcoidosis.
• Imaging, particularly CT and US, can detect abdominal involvement.
• Sarcoidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal lymphadenopathy, especially when chest radiographs are characteristic.