The role of chest X-ray in the early diagnosis and staging of sarcoidosis: Is it really should be done?

Sarcoidosis is a chronic granulomatous disease characterized by non-caseating granuloma. The conventional chest X-ray (CXR) has important role in the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of disease. Computed tomography (CT) is a second-line imaging method used to determine the extent, complications and differential diagnosis of sarcoidosis. To determine the role of CXR in the early diagnosis and staging of sarcoidosis and to compare with CT imaging. One hundred and nine sarcoidosis patients followed at a single center were included in the study. Demographic, radiological, and clinical data of 81 patients were obtained from a total of 109 patients, and the record data of these 81 patients were evaluated. Patients who could not be reached for all tests were excluded from the study. CXR and CT imaging taken at diagnosis were evaluated retrospectively independently from two radiologists and one rheumatologist. Among 109 patients, eighty-one patients CXR and CT imaging taken at the same center has been reached. Among 81 sarcoidosis patients 23 (28.4%) were male, 58 (71.6%) were female. The mean patients age was 46.4 years and the mean disease duration was 3.8 years. CXR is regarded as normal at diagnosis in 30 patients (37%), while all of these patients had findings consistent with sarcoidosis on CT imaging. CT imaging are more superior than CXR in the early diagnosis and staging of sarcoidosis (p=0.001). Also CT imaging is more superior for detection of disease extent and complications. In this study, we observed that CT imaging outperforms CXR in terms of early detection and staging of sarcoidosis. The use of CT imaging is important for early diagnosis and staging of sarcoidosis. The low performance of CXR is a condition that requires the discussion of this method. Multicenter prospective study is needed in this regard. La sarcoidosis es una enfermedad granulomatosa crónica caracterizada por un granuloma no caseificante. La radiografía de tórax convencional (CXR) tiene un papel importante en el diagnóstico, estadificación y seguimiento de la enfermedad. La tomografía computarizada (TC) es un método de imagen de segunda línea que se utiliza para determinar la extensión, las complicaciones y el diagnóstico diferencial de la sarcoidosis. Determinar el papel de la radiografía de tórax en el diagnóstico temprano y la estadificación de la sarcoidosis y compararlo con la tomografía computarizada. Se incluyeron en el estudio 109 pacientes con sarcoidosis seguidos en un s