Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2006 | Case report
Pulmonary sarcoidosis associated with psoriasis vulgaris: coincidental occurrence or causal association? Case report
Published in: BMC Pulmonary Medicine | Issue 1/2006
Login to get accessAbstract
Background
Sarcoidosis is rarely associated with a distinct disease. One disease infrequently associated with sarcoidosis is psoriasis.
Case presentation
This case study describes a 38-year-old male, who presented with chest pain, high-grade fever, arthralgias and a skin rash accompanied by bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy on his chest radiograph. Extensive investigations including fiber-optic bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage and labial and skin biopsies, demonstrated that two distinct clinical entities co-existed in the same patient: pulmonary sarcoidosis and psoriasis vulgaris. Combination therapy for both diseases was applied and the patient was greatly improved.
Conclusion
This is the first well-documented case of sarcoidosis and psoriasis in the same patient, reported on the basis of safe and widely-used techniques that were not available until fairly recently. These disorders might share common pathogenic mechanisms that could explain their co-existence in the patient.