Recovery may not be the end for sarcoidosis patients: SGPGI study

Lucknow: Nearly four out of every 10 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis experience a relapse after treatment is reduced or discontinued, according to a historic meta-analysis undertaken by the department of pulmonary medicine at Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) released on Saturday.Sarcoidosis is a disease in which the body’s immune system becomes overactive and forms tiny clumps of inflammatory cells (called granulomas) which tend to interfere with normal organ function.“Lungs are the commonly affected organ followed by lymph nodes. Once considered to be rare in India, it is known to affect 6-12 people per lakh population. Advances in diagnostic tools and greater awareness among specialists have led to more cases being diagnosed,” said Prof Zia Hashim who led the research.Published in high impact medical journal Respiratory Medicine, the study pooled findings from 51 studies involving 6,093 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis undertaken between 1960 and 2025. The paper included data from studies conducted in India, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia, including cohorts from PGIMER Chandigarh, AIIMS, New Delhi, and other centres.“We found that relapse occurred regardless of treatment approach in over 39% of the patients. Nearly two-thirds of relapses occurred within 18 months, with the highest risk observed between 6 and 12 months after stopping therapy. This makes continuous follow-up a must for such patients to avoid complications,” he said.“Patients with advanced lung disease were significantly more likely to suffer a relapse after treatment withdrawal, making them the highest-risk group. Age, sex and the type of treatment received did not appear to influence the likelihood of recurrence,” he said, adding, “A high burden of TB in India incidentally leads to diagnosis of the disease in advance stage. Our experience is that about 50% patients who reach were already under treatment for TB,” he said.Dubbing the research as pathbreaking, director, SGPGI, Prof Radha Krishan Dhiman said: “The quality of research undertaken by our centre is world-class. The team brought on board Prof Robert P Baughman – pulmonary physician at department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, USA – who is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on sarcoidosis.”