Transbronchial Lung Biopsy in the Diagnosis of Suspected Ocular Sarcoidosis

Abstract

• We conducted clinical research using transbronchial lung biopsy in 60 patients with suspected ocular sarcoidosis who showed no bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy and sparse contributory evidence for sarcoidosis. The patients had a combination of granulomatous iritis with mutton-fat keratic precipitates or iris nodules, trabecular nodules, tentlike peripheral anterior synechiae, snowball or string-of-pearls vitreous opacities, retinal perivasculitis, and spotty retinochoroidal exudates. The transbronchial lung biopsy specimen showed noncaseating epithelioid granuloma in 37 patients (61.7%); these patients were diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage showed a high percentage of patients with an increased lymphocyte fraction among those with positive transbronchial lung biopsy results. The present results may serve as a basis for a clinical diagnosis of sarcoidosis in patients with suspected sarcoidosis without apparent extraocular manifestations.