A Case of Relapsed Sarcoidosis Presented with Lupus Perino and Polyarthritis

Abstract

A case of sarcoidosis complicated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is described. A 42 year old male patient presented with erythema on the auricular skin visited our hospital in August 1995. He had been diagnosed as having sarcoidosis at the age of 25, and he had no symptoms since then. Specimen taken from the ear demonstrated noncaseating epithelioid cell granuloma. RA was diagnosed by the criteria of American Rheumatism Association (1987). The possible immunological mechanisms concerning their concurrent appearance are discussed: if sarcoidosis showed imbalance between T helper 1 (Th1) and Th2, it could perhaps predispose the development of RA.