Sarcoidosis is a challenging condition. First identified in 1877, it has been considered a rare condition. However, the lifetime risk of sarcoidosis is about 2.5% for African Americans and almost 1% for Caucasians making it a rather common occurrence. Despite that, it remains an elusive condition with no obvious etiology and is often a challenge to treat. The disease is well known to cause a multisystem involvement but the general pulmonologist is often left carrying the bag as the “sarcoidologist” because it affects the lungs in over 90% of patients. However, managing multisystem sarcoidosis is a tough task and very few resources are available to help the practitioner taking care of the patient with sarcoidosis.
As pulmonologists with a deep interest in sarcoidosis, we felt that a handbook with organ based manifestations of sarcoidosis would be a very helpful resource for our colleagues. As a result, this book came into being. It is a clinical handbook that bridges the gap between short reviews on sarcoidosis and detailed monographs regarding all aspects of the disease and should come in handy to the practicing clinician. It is a result of the hard work of several outstanding clinicians well-known in the world of sarcoidosis who have put a lot of hours into their work. We deeply acknowledge their time and effort.
