PO22 - Inflammatory Markers and Disease Severity in Sarcoidosis
Joana Soares Queirós (Portugal); Cláudia Sousa (Portugal); Pedro Mendes (Portugal); Rudi Fernandes (Portugal); Samuel Pereira (Portugal); Vítor Teixeira (Portugal);
Select the theme: Challenges in Sarcoidosis Diagnosis and Staging
Type: Original Papers
Presentation: Poster Presentation

Introduction:

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatous disease that predominantly affects the lungs but may involve multiple extrapulmonary organs. Its etiology remains unclear. Due to its heterogeneous clinical presentation, it continues to pose diagnostic and management challenges, and no ideal biomarker has yet been established.

Objectives:

To evaluate the prognostic value of clinical and laboratory markers at diagnosis in patients with sarcoidosis from Madeira Island.

Materials and Methods:

We conducted a retrospective observational study including 17 patients diagnosed with sarcoidosis at our center up to February 2026. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were collected and analyzed. Patients were stratified according to treatment status.

Results:

Among the 17 patients, 9 (52.9%) were male and 8 (47.1%) female, with a mean age of 62.8 years (range 39–85). Nine patients (52.9%) were receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Most patients were symptomatic, mainly with fatigue, cough, and dyspnea.

Pulmonary function patterns differed between groups, with restrictive defects more frequent in treated patients (n=6), while obstructive patterns were rare (2 treated, 1 untreated).

Mean angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) levels were similar between treated and untreated patients (69.2 vs 72.3 U/L). The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was higher in treated patients (5.37 vs 2.49), whereas calcium levels were slightly lower (9.48 vs 10.36 mg/dL). Among patients who underwent bronchoalveolar lavage, a higher CD4/CD8 ratio was observed in the treated group (7.03 vs 4.5).

Conclusions:

Patients requiring immunosuppressive therapy showed higher inflammatory markers, particularly NLR, and increased CD4/CD8 ratios, suggesting an association with increased disease activity and severity. ACE levels did not discriminate between groups. These findings support NLR as a potentially accessible adjunct biomarker in the assessment of sarcoidosis severity. However, larger prospective studies are needed to validate its prognostic value.