Pulmonary Sarcoidosis and Immune Dysregulation: A Pilot Study on Possible Correlation

Background: Sarcoidosis is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by an altered inflammatory response. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether immune system alterations detected by lymphocyte typing in peripheral blood correlate with the severity of sarcoidosis, calculated according to two separate severity scores proposed by Wasfi in 2006 and Hamzeh in 2010. Materials and Methods: Eighty-one patients were recruited, and clinical data and laboratory tests at the time of diagnosis were obtained in order to assess the severity index score and investigate any statistically significant correlation with the cytofluorimetry data. Results: Our data demonstrated that none of the two scores show an association with the level of total lymphocytes or lymphocyte subclasses. Limitations: First of all, the sample taken into consideration is small. The assessment was performed only at disease onset and not during the disease. Furthermore, the severity scores do not take into account disease activity (measured by PET/CT or gallium scintigraphy). Conclusions: Lymphocyte subpopulation values at the time of diagnosis do not appear to correlate with disease severity at onset.