Pericardial Involvement in Sarcoidosis

A rare case of pericardial sarcoidosis presenting as chest pain

Key Clinical Message

Pericardial sarcoidosis is an uncommon cause of chest pain to consider, and it requires a heightened level of suspicion and thorough history gathering. If there is suspicion of inflammatory disease, pursuing advanced imaging and biopsies is crucial, as early immunosuppressive treatment can enhance outcomes.

Abstract

Pericardial involvement in sarcoidosis is a rare condition with limited research. This case study discusses a 52-year-old African American woman who presented with subacute chest pain and was diagnosed with pericardial sarcoidosis. Diagnostic evaluation revealed extensive lymphadenopathy and pericardial effusion, and a pericardial biopsy confirmed non-caseating granulomatous inflammation. Treatment with steroids and methotrexate resulted in clinical improvement. Eight months follow-up showed near resolution of pericardial disease. This case emphasizes the importance of considering cardiac sarcoidosis in sarcoidosis patients, utilizing advanced imaging for accurate diagnosis, and tailoring treatment to the level of cardiac involvement.

High-risk and low prevalence disease: Cardiac sarcoidosis and some of its mimics

In this narrative review of cardiac sarcoidosis, based on a literature search using the terms "cardiac sarcoidosis", "tuberculous myocarditis", "Whipple's disease and myocarditis", and"idiopathic giant cell myocarditis", I have defined cardiac sarcoidosis as a disorder which can be diagnosed either by documentation of the presence of sarcoid-related granulomas in myocardial tissue or by documentation of the association of the presence of sarcoid-related granulomas in extracardiac tissue and symptoms such as complete heart block, ventricular tachyarrhythmia, sudden death or dilated cardiomyopathy which are typical of cardiac sarcoidosis. The differential diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis includes granulomatous myocarditis attributable to underlying causes such as such as tuberculosis, Whipple's disease, and idiopathic giant cell myocarditis. Diagnostic pathways for cardiac sarcoidosis include biopsy of cardiac and extracardiac tissue, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and a diagnostic trial of empiric therapy. Problem areas include differentiation between noncaseating granulomatosis attributable to sarcoidosis versus noncaseating granulomatosis attributable to tuberculosis and whether or not the workup of suspected cardiac sarcoidosis should always include evaluation of biopsy tissue by molecular methods for M tuberculosis DNA as well as by mycobacterium tuberculosis culture. The diagnostic significance of necrotising granulomatosis is also unclear. Evaluation of patients on long term immunotherapy should also take due account of the risk of tuberculosis attributable to the use of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists.

Challenges of cardiac sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem granulomatosis of unknown origin, which can involve almost any organ. Most frequently the disease involves the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes, but it can affect the skin, the eyes, nervous system, the heart, kidneys, joints, muscles, calcium metabolism, and probably any other anecdotical organ involvement. Cardiac sarcoidosis is one of the most challenging involvements, as it can lead to cardiac mortality and morbidity, and also because the diagnosis may be difficult. With no specific symptoms, cardiac sarcoidosis may be difficult to suspect in a patient with no previous extra-cardiac sarcoidosis diagnosis. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge of the diagnosis and decision to treat cardiac sarcoidosis, and illustrates the information with a case presentation of a young adult with no risk factors, no previous diagnosis of sarcoidosis, and with cardiac symptoms impairing his quality of life.

What cardiologists should know about cardiac sarcoidosis in 2022?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) is a potentially fatal condition when unrecognized or not treated adequately. The purpose of this review is to provide new strategies to increase clinical recognition of CS and to present an updated overview of the immunosuppressive treatments using most recent data published in the last 18 months.

RECENT FINDINGS

CS is an increasingly recognized pathology, and its diagnostic is made 20 times more often in the last two decades. Recent studies have shown that imaging alone usually lacks specificity to distinguish CS from other inflammatory cardiomyopathies. However, imaging can be used to increase significantly diagnostic yield of extracardiac and cardiac biopsy. Recent reviews have also demonstrated that nearly 25% of patients will be refractory to standard treatment with prednisone and that combined treatment with a corticosteroid-sparing agent is often necessary for a period that remains undetermined.

SUMMARY

CS is a complex pathology that should always require a biopsy attempt to have a histological proven diagnosis before starting immunosuppressive therapy consisting of corticosteroids with or without a corticosteroid-sparing agent.