Ophthalmology consultation in the diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis

We reviewed 204 cases of biopsy-proved sarcoidosis at our institution from 1967 through 1983 to determine the extent of this disease in our catchment area and the degree of awareness by the various medical specialties of sarcoid manifestations. The ophthalmology service was used as an example. Our results showed that there were familial clusters of sarcoid; that one half of the patients born in the United States were from the southeast; that the mode of initial presentation varied considerably; and that only 44% of patients were referred to an ophthalmologist even though more than one half of those examined by an eye doctor manifested signs and symptoms of ocular sarcoidosis. We advocate a more cooperative interdisciplinary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis because of its broad spectrum of clinical manifestations.