Abstract
It has been reported that diffusing capacity is one of the most useful indices of pulmonary damage in sarcoidosis.
This paper reports sequential changes of diffusing capacity (single breath method) following corticosteroid therapy in sarcoidosis.
1) DLCO, DLCO/VA, TLC, FEV1.0%, V-V curve, and A-aDO2 measured in 30 patients before treatment were within normal limits, except A-aDO2 showed a slight tendency to widen.
2) DLCO, DLCO/VA showed a significant decrement after 2-6 months corticosteroid therapy in 16 patients despite of clinical improvements.
3) On the other hand, other pulmonary function tests did not show significant changes statistically.
4) The decrement of diffusing capacity observed by corticosteroid therapy was due to so-called “permeability disturbance”. The mechanism is discussed.
