Localised airway narrowing in sarcoidosis

Four patients developed multiple narrowings or occlusions of bronchi during the early stages of sarcoidosis when the chest radiograph showed no evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. Three of the patients had symptoms of breathlessness and wheezing and all had an obstructive defect of ventilation. Bronchography showed stenoses that were not apparent at bronchoscopy. It is concluded that the possibility of bronchial narrowing should be considered in patients who develop breathlessness or wheezing at any stage of sarcoidosis, and that bronchoscopy should be supplemented by bronchography.