Chest
Specificity and Sensitivity of Distinctive Chest Radiographic and/or 67Ga Images in the Noninvasive Diagnosis of Sarcoidosis
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METHODS
An analysis was made of 67Ca images of the head and thorax, chest radiographs, and appropriate clinical information in 162 sarcoidosis patients and 167 HIV-positive patients (most of whom have/had AIDS), the majority of whom attend/attended the outpatient clinics of Mount Sinai Hospital, New York.
Patients With Sarcoidosis
The results of 67Ga imaging in 167 patients with sarcoidosis according to roentgen stages are summarized in Table 1.
A panda 67Ga uptake image was observed in 62 percent of stage 0, 67 percent of stage 1, and 72 percent of stage 2 patients in this series. These stages are those that mainly reflect disease of relatively recent onset. Interestingly, patients with bilateral parenchymal lung disease indicative of pulmonary fibrosis (BSIF) and (BSHL), stage IVa, (disease of chronic duration), also
DISCUSSION
The absence of a lambda 67Ga uptake image or a panda 67Ga uptake image associated with BSHL or BSIF on chest radiograph in the present study of 167 HIV-positive patients strongly supports the unique specificity of these distinctive findings in the noninvasive diagnosis of sarcoidosis.
The present study also demonstrates the high sensitivity of these distinctive chest radiographic and/or 67Ga uptake findings, not only in the early phases of sarcoidosis (when the majority of patients with