The Evaluation of The Relationship between The Radiological Pulmonary Stage of Sarcoidosis and Carotid Artery Intima Media Thickness Measurement on The Sarcoidosis Patients with Lung Involvement

Author(s): Alper Sar?, Ayd?n Balc?, Adem Ertürk

Objective: Sarcoidosis is a disease which courses with noncaseating granulomas, and within the pathophysiology of which abnormal immune response, inflammation and oxidative stress are held responsible. Lungs are the organs which it mostly involves and the lung involvement is radiologically divided into stages. The present research aims to evaluate the relationship between the lung involvement stage of sarcoidosis and carotid intima media thickness measurement which is one of the indicators of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Materials and Methods: 48 sarcoidosis patients with isolated pulmonary involvement were included in the study. The patients are divided into four stages according to their radiological appearances. The carotid intima media thickness, laboratory and antropometric measurements of the patients are compared between their stages.

Results: Carotid intima media thickness is measured to be averagely 0,66±0,19 mm. Carotid intima media thickness is observed to increase progressively from Stage-1 to Stage-4. The stages are found out to have significant differences among each other (p:0,000).

Conclusion: The radiological pulmonary staging of sarcoidosis and carotid intima media thickness measurement - albeit indirectly subclinical atherosclerosis - are found out to have a significant relationship.