Demographic and diagnostic trends in patients with histopathologically diagnosed pulmonary sarcoidosis: A 10-year...

Sarcoidosis is a chronic and inflammatory multisystemic disease of unknown origin that causes various clinical manifestations. Epidemiologic data vary by numerous variables such as age, geographical location, sex, race, as well as genetic and environmental factors. Epidemiologic data help better characterize the heterogeneous disease of sarcoidosis, as in many other diseases, and facilitate a prognostic assessment. Thus, the present study sought to analyze epidemiologic data and changes in diagnostic strategies used in sarcoidosis over time.

The study reviewed patients who were diagnosed with sarcoidosis between January 01, 2011 and December 31, 2020, and had non-necrotizing granulomatous inflammation in at least one thoracic biopsy material.

Data from a total of 1.200 patients, of whom 768 (64%) were females and 432 were males (female/male: 1.77), were reviewed over a 10-year period. The results showed an increasing trend in the frequency of sarcoidosis in the 10-year period and an increasing incidence for males after 2015. The rate of asymptomatic patients was 15%, and asymptomatic sarcoidosis was significantly higher in males than in females. After 2012, video-assisted mediastinoscopy was replaced with endobronchial ultrasoundguided transbronchial needle aspiration as the preferred diagnostic technique.

Epidemiologic data associated with sarcoidosis are likely to continue changing because of multiple factors such as health policies and technological changes and development. We believe that it is necessary to constantly monitor epidemiological changes in different geographical regions in the world.