Clinical and imaging features of pulmonary sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a systemic disease than can involve multiple organs. Pulmonary sarcoidosis frequently involves the lung and chest lymph nodes. Its clinical manifestation varies greatly and lacks specificity. The pathological features of pulmonary sarcoidosis include aggregation of lymphocytes, monocytes, and macrophages, as well as the formation of noncaseating granulomas. The most commonly used imaging methods are computed tomography (CT) and PET/CT. The diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary sarcoidosis according to clinical symptoms is only 33%∼42%, which can be increased to 52%∼76% using chest X-ray, and to 78%∼80% using high resolution CT. However, prompt diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis is still a great challenge and requires the use of multiple approaches including clinical examination, pathology, and imaging. (authors)