P596 Sarcoidosis in younger and elderly patients - similarities and differences

The aim of the study was to investigate the differences in clinical manifestation and immunological system status in pulmonary sarcoidosis patients older than fifty. The study population consisted of two groups of patients: 15 patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis in the mean age of 58.2±5.5 were compared with 52 patients in the mean age of 34.1±5.9. The results of laboratory tests, pulmonary function tests, computed tomography, bronchoscopy and flow cytometry of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analysed. In the elderly group, sarcoidosis occurred more frequently in female patients (n=13). Eleven subjects were affected by chest X-ray Stage II or III disease and three patients by Loefgren’s syndrome. The numbers of women and men as well as the patients in chest X-ray Stage I and II or III sarcoidosis were similar in the younger group. In this group, Loefgren’s syndrome appeared in 20 patients. The immunological analysis of BALF and peripheral blood showed no differences in the examined groups. The sarcoidosis may present different manifestation in elderly subjects, but the pathological process in the lung seems to have a similar course. Supported by the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research; grant no. 3PO5B05124