Is This Sarcoidosis?

Discussion Sarcoidosis is rare and is even rarer in the pediatric age group. Sarcoidosis is seen in all ages with an estimated prevalence is 10-40/100,000 in the U.S. population. Pediatric sarcoidosis has an estimated incidence of 0.2/100,000 per year. For the pediatric age range it is more likely from 9-15 years of age. In adults it commonly presents between 20-39 years but bimodal distribution is also reported. Women are more likely to have sarcoidosis than men. African American females have the highest risk, and usually present slightly older, especially in the 4th decade of life. African American women are also more likely to have more significant disease. The etiology is unknown but felt to be multifactorial with environmental exposures (e.g. non-organic particulates, metals, mold, insecticides) and infectious disease exposures (e.g. Mycobacterium, Hepatitis C) and genetics being implicated. Various HLA alleles, along with various chromosomal abnormalities (3p, 5p, 5q and 6p) have been implicated. For adolescents their clinical course most closely follows adult forms of the disease process which usually has pulmonary disease, lymphadenopathy and constitutional symptoms such as fatigue, night sweats and weight loss. Treatment is with corticosteroid and other anti-inflammatory agents. For adults, most patients have remission with few or no consequences (overall 6 months, and late-stage pulmonary involvement. Learning Point The main hallmark of sarcoidosis is non-caseatin...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news