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The Treatment of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

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Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Part of the book series: Respiratory Medicine ((RM,volume 17))

Abstract

Decisions regarding treatment of sarcoidosis rely on several factors. These include symptoms, organ involvement, signs of functional impairment, and current and prior therapy. Over the years, the treatment options for sarcoidosis have increased. While this has allowed the clinician to tailor therapy for the individual patient, it also has led to the need to consider risk and benefit each individual patient. Not all therapy is equally effective in sarcoidosis. The benefits from an individual therapy may be more apparent within a few weeks, such as with glucocorticoids and anti-TNF biologic agents, whereas cytotoxic drugs such as methotrexate (MTX) may take up to 6 months or longer to demonstrate their effectiveness. Some drugs such as pentoxifylline seem only to be useful as steroid-sparing agents for pulmonary disease. In addition drugs such as chloroquine and thalidomide may be effective for cutaneous disease but not pulmonary disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Robert P. Baughman M.D.

  2. Department of Interstitial Lung Disease, Hospital Gelderse Vallei, Ede, The Netherlands

    Marjolein Drent M.D., Ph.D.

  3. Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Marjolein Drent M.D., Ph.D.

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  1. Robert P. Baughman M.D.
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  2. Marjolein Drent M.D., Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Robert P. Baughman M.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York, USA

    Marc A. Judson

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Baughman, R.P., Drent, M. (2014). The Treatment of Pulmonary Sarcoidosis. In: Judson, M. (eds) Pulmonary Sarcoidosis. Respiratory Medicine, vol 17. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8927-6_3

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