[Thyroid disorders during sarcoidosis (author's transl)]

A clinical, scintigraphic and hormonal study of the thyroid was performed in 50 patients with intrathoracic sarcoidosis. The patients were divided into two groups: T - : n = 32, no thyroid abnormality; T +, 18 cases, with thyroid disorders (9 moderate diffuse goitres, 2 thyroid nodules, 7 nodular goitres). All had normal T4, T3 and TSH levels, except one patient with Graves's disease. Scarce sarcoid granulomas were found in 3 out of 4 patients who underwent thyroidectomy. Dissemination, activity, type of sarcoid thoracic involvement were not different in the two groups. In contrast, T + group had higher seric IgG levels than T - group (p less than 0,05). The association of sarcoidosis and goitre is not fortuitous but thyroid enlargement and sarcoid diffusion do not seem interrelated. Auto-immune thyroiditis seems unlikely in our cases, according to the low frequency of thyroid auto-antibodies. We discuss the possible role of seric immunoglobulins in the constitution of thyroid hypertrophy with or without hyperthyroidism in sarcoidosis.