| Table 1: | |
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Historically
Suspected Etiologies for Sarcoidosis
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Infectious
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Noninfectious
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| Mycobacteria (tuberculous, nontuberculous*, and cell-wall deficient [L-forms]*) | Dusts (clay, talc, pollen, pine) |
| Bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes*, T. whippleii, Corynebacterium sp., others) | Metals (beryllium, zirconium, aluminum) |
| Fungi (Endemic fungi, Cryptococcus) | |
| Viruses (Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus, others) | |
| Many of these are no longer considered relevant suspects as triggers for sarcoidosis. * denotes the organisms that have been the focus of most recent studies, but no single agent is confirmed. It is very possible that several disparate agents may induce similar reactions leading to sarcoidosis. Beryllium causes a histologically identical pulmonary reaction, but can be differentiated from sarcoidosis by exposure history and lymphocyte proliferation testing. | |
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Copyright
2005 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
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