Stages of Sarcoidosis on chest X-ray

Q: What are the four stages of Sarcoidosis on chest X-ray?

Answer: Most of the times,, sarcoidosis gets diagnosed during the course of a chest radiography, performed for other reasons. 

Stage 0 - normal chest x-ray.

Stage 1 - chest x-ray with enlarged lymph nodes but otherwise clear lungs.

Stage 2 - chest x-ray with enlarged lymph nodes plus infiltrates in the lungs.

Stage 3 - chest x-ray that shows the infiltrates are present, but the lymph nodes are no longer seen.

Stage 4 - shows scar tissue in the lung tissue.

X-ray stages do not tell the severity of the disease. However, in general, the higher the stage of the X-ray, the worse the person’s symptoms and lung function (PFTs). There is a lot of individual variation, and persons at Stages 0 through 3 may or may not have symptoms. Further workup via CT scan and lab workup should be followed.

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Reference:

 Maller V, Elfeky M, Knipe H, et al. Thoracic sarcoidosis (staging). Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 May 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-4997