Recovery of Cell Wall-Deficient Organisms From Blood Does Not Distinguish Between Patients With Sarcoidosis and Control Subjects

To determine if cell wall-deficient forms (CWDF) of mycobacteria can be grown in culture of blood from subjects with sarcoidosis. A special multicenter study of sarcoidosis (A Case Control Etiologic Study of Sarcoidosis), supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Patients and control subjects were recruited at 10 institutions in the United States. Control subjects (controls) were of the same gender and race, and within 5 years of age as matching patients with sarcoidosis (cases). Cultures were incubated from 347 blood specimens (197 cases, 150 controls). Two investigators trained to recognize CWDF mycobacteria examined material obtained from culture tubes after 3 weeks. Structures thought to be CWDF were seen with equal frequency in cases (38%) and controls (41%). Thirty-nine percent of cases and 37% of controls were read as negative for CWDF. This study fails to confirm earlier reports that CWDF mycobacteria can be grown from the blood of patients with sarcoidosis, but not from control subjects.