Sarcoidosis: Improvement in Chest X-ray Shadows During Pregnancy

¹ Halifax Tuberculosis Hospital.

The preceding case was diagnosed as sarcoidosis on the basis of the abnormal roentgenogram and the histologic appearance of a biopsied lymph node along with the clinical findings of enlarged spleen and lymph nodes. The radiologic lesions showed marked regression during the latter months of pregnancy so that they had virtually completely disappeared at the time of delivery. Post-partum the x-ray shadows reverted back to the previous abnormal state.

In view of the paucity of case reports it will be necessary to record much more data before it may be possible to ascertain whether changes such as noted above are incidental to the course of the disease on whether they may be due to some physiological alteration in the body state during pregnancy.