Sarcoidosis Vasc Dif
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Sarcoidosis Vasc Dif · Jun 2006
ReviewPast achievements and future directions of sarcoidosis research: a NHLBI perspective.
This history of research on sarcoidosis is largely from the perspective of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Insititutes of Health which has had an interest in this disease since the inception of the Lung Program in 1969. ⋯ NHLBI has continued active support of research in sarcoidosis, both basic and clinical, such as the A Case Control Etiologic Study of Sarcoidosis (ACCESS) program, 1995-2003, whose conclusions are continuing to be published. A workshop on "Future Directions in Sarcoidosis Research" provided new research ideas to explore basic immunity mechanisms in human sarcoidosis tissue and search for latent microbial agents in tissue. The organization of sarcoidosis patient support groups has heightened awareness of the need for research on multiple organs affected by the disease in addition to the respiratory tract. In response, a trans-NIH sarcoidosis working group has been formed to assess this need and to better coordinate NIH research efforts.
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Pulmonary hypertension has been notreported in some patients with sarcoidosis. ⋯ Pulmonary hypertension was commonly found in sarcoidosis patients with persistent dyspnea. For some of these patients, treatment of the pulmonary hypertension was associated with improved clinical status.
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Sarcoidosis Vasc Dif · Jun 2006
Comparative StudyTuberculin skin test among pulmonary sarcoidosis patients with and without tuberculosis: its utility for the screening of the two conditions in tuberculosis-endemic regions.
Sarcoidosis is an increasingly important condition in developing countries, including those with a high prevalence of tuberculosis. The tuberculin skin test (TST) is one test used in distinguishing these two granulomatous conditions. It has been shown that a negative TST is highly sensitive for sarcoidosis. This retrospective study set out to assess the converse: the role of a positive test in the assessing the likelihood that a patient with sarcoidosis might also have tuberculosis. ⋯ The tuberculin skin test in sarcoid patients has a high specificity but a poor sensitivity for tuberculosis. As such, while a negative TST in the general population is a sensitive test for sarcoidosis, a positive TST among sarcoidosis patients is a specific test for indicating tuberculosis. A positive TST in a patient suspected to suffer from sarcoidosis should therefore be an absolute indication for a thorough work-up for tuberculosis.