• Salima Ben Jennet, Rym Benmously, Saif Chaâbane, Samy Fenniche, Hayet Marrak, Zghal Mohammed, and Inçaf Mokhtar.
• Service de Dermatologie, Hôpital Habib Thameur, Tunis, Tunisie.
• Tunis Med. 2008 May 1; 86 (5): 447-50.

BackgroundSarcoidosis is a systemic disease, of unknown etiology, characterized by noncaseating epithelioid granulomas. It may affect many organs mainly lungs, lymph nodes and skin.AimThe aim of our study is to evaluate retrospectively the epidemiological, clinical features and therapeutic particularities of cutaneous sarocidosis through a hospital series conducted in the dermatology department of Habib Thameur hospital. METHODS We have included 28 patients (23 females and 5 males) with a mean age of 45.5 years.ResultsThe most frequent skin lesions were: papular sarcoidosis in 6 cases, nodular sarcoidosis in 8 cases and plaques in 6 cases. The other clinical types observed were: lupus pernio (2 cases), subcutaneous nodules (2 cases) and scar sarcoidosis (2 cases). Three patients presented erythema nodosum. Tuberculin skin test was negative in 77% of cases. Lymph nodes were palpable in 4 patients. Investigative exams revealed intrathoracic involvement in 8 cases and anterior uveitis sequels in 2 cases. Cutaneous manifestations were treated by chloroquin in 13 cases, allopurinol in 3 cases and intralesional betamethasone injections in 1 case. Five patients, with systemic involvement, underwent a therapy with oral corticosteroids.ConclusionSarcoidosis is a rare affection in Tunisia that affects mainly females. Cutaneous manifestations incite physicians to carry out complete investigations and to uphold a regular follow-up in order to detect systemic involvement.

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