CHEST COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY AND MEDIASTINOSCOPY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF SARCOIDOSIS-ASSOCIATED UVEITIS

PURPOSE: To report the usefulness of chest computed tomography and med iastinoscopy in diagnosing sarcoidosis in elderly patients with uveiti s, METHODS: Case reports. Two Caucasian women, aged 73 and 70 years, u nderwent evaluations for uveitis, which included chest computed tomogr aphy and mediastinoscopy. RESULTS: A chest computed tomographic scan o f each woman disclosed mediastinal lymphadenopathy and warranted media stinal lymph node biopsy by mediastinoscopy. In both patients, histopa thologic and microbiologic studies demonstrated sterile noncaseating g ranulomas consistent with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. CONCLUSIONS: T he diagnosis of sarcoid-associated uveitis in the elderly may be facil itated by chest computed tomography, which may be more sensitive than conventional chest roentgenography. Laboratory studies of biopsied med iastinal nodes obtained by mediastinoscopy can confirm the diagnosis. (C) 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc, All rights reserved.