• Esam H Alhamad, Mohammed O Alanezi, Majdy M Idrees, Mohammad K Chaudhry, Ali M AlShahrani, Arthur Isnani, and Shaffi Shaikh.
• Department of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. esamalhamad@yahoo.com
• Ann Saudi Med. 2009 Nov 1; 29 (6): 454-9.

Background And ObjectiveSarcoidosis is prevalent worldwide with significant heterogeneity across different ethnic groups. We aimed To describe the clinical characteristics and computed tomography findings among Arab patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis.MethodsA retrospective study of patient demographics, symptoms, co-morbid illness, sarcoidosis stage, treatment, pulmonary function and CT results.ResultsOf 104 patients, most (77%) were 40 years of age or older at diagnosis, and females in this category (40 years ) significantly outnumbered male patients (69/104 (66.3%) vs. 35/104 (33.7%), P=.003). The most common complaints were dyspnea (76%), cough (72.1%) and weight loss (32.7%). The majority of patients displayed impairment in lung function parameters at presentation. However, significant impairment in forced vital capacity, percentage predicted (FVC%) (ConclusionAt presentation, clinical manifestations of sarcoidosis among this sample of Arab patients were similar to reports from other nations. Further studies are needed to explore the effects of race and ethnicity on disease severity in the Middle East.

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