What other tests are used to diagnose sarcoidosis?
A variety of tests may be ordered, both to help diagnose sarcoidosis and to determine the degree of organ involvement. Laboratory tests may include: a liver panel, CBC, and calcium (blood and urine – they tend to be elevated). Other tests may include a: physical exam (for skin lesions) pulmonary function test (about 90% of the time there will be some amount of lung involvement with sarcoidosis), bronchoscopy (passing a flexible tube that is used to look at the lining of the airway and to biopsy the lung), chest x-ray, gallium screening (radioactive gallium is used to evaluate inflammation). Biopsies of the skin, lungs, lymph nodes and sometimes liver may also be needed, as may a thorough eye exam (a test called a slit-lamp examination may be used). • What causes sarcoidosis? The cause is not well understood. It is not contagious. It is inflammatory and involves the immune system. It appears to have a genetic component, as well as an environmental one. It has been been reported both in
