[Clinical manifestations of ocular sarcoidosis in Japanese patients]

Ocular sarcoidosis was found in 57.5 to 93.5% of Japanese patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Many studies reported a high female/male ratio with high percentage of patients at 20s and 50s in age in ocular sarcoidosis. A cardinal involvement was intraocular and manifested as uveitis. A combinations of granulomatous iritis, trabecular nodules, tent-like peripheral anterior synechia, snow-ball vitreous opacities, perivasculitis, and candle-wax or spotty chorioretinal exudates were characteristic and highly specific intraocular lesions. The lesions often lead ophthalmologists to systemic examinations. In suspects of ocular sarcoidosis who had no or sparse systemic findings, a diagnosis should remain tentative. Transbronchial lung biopsy showed non-caseating epithelioid granuloma in 37 of 60 patients with suspected ocular sarcoidosis who showed no bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy.