utility of nasal endoscopy in the diagnosis of sinonasal and pulmonary sarcoidosis

ABSTRACT

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that may affect any organ. Although involvement of the epithelium of the upper respirafory tract is comparatively infrequent, nasal symptoms may be the first manifestation of the disease. In this study, we are trying to highlight the importance of the noninvasive nasal endoscopy in the early detection and diagnosis of patients with sarcoidosis. Our study population consisted of 80 patients; group A [50 patients with biopsy proved pulmonary sarcoidosis] and group B [30 patients with quiery pulmonary sarcoidosis]. Positive nasal biopsies were found among 14% and 16.6% of both groups respectively. The easily accessible nasal cavity can yield important information that help diagnose patients with sarcoidosis without resorting to any invasive procedures