ABSTRACT
The treatment of sarcoidosis is governed by a number of
considerations drawn from clinical experience of the highly
variable natural history of the disease. The absence of an
identifiable inciting agent, historical observations of effects
of various treatments on the clinical course, and similar
observations from clinical studies over a number of years,
have shaped current recommendations. Current manage-
ment strategies in individual patients include observation
without treatment and a variety of steroid, immunomodu-
latory and cytotoxic regimens. The wide variety of regimens
following initial treatment reflects the highly variable disease,
ranging from spontaneous regression of disease activity to
ongoing chronic inflammation which, in some but not all
cases, precedes and leads to severe fibrosis. The lack of a
proven etiological agent has led to a number of pathogenetic
hypotheses which, in turn, have given rise to a variety of
empirical treatments.
