Tests Used for Diagnosing Sarcoidosis
There is no one specific test for diagnosing
sarcoidosis. It is harder to diagnose sarcoidosis in some parts of the body (for example, heart and nervous system) than in others. Your doctor will probably conduct a variety of tests and procedures to help in the diagnosis.
Tests used for diagnosing sarcoidosis include:
- Chest x-ray
- Blood tests
- Lung function tests
- Electrocardiogram
- Pulse oximetry
- Arterial blood gas test
- Bronchoscopy
- Biopsy
- CT scan
- MRI scan
- Thallium and gallium scan
- PET scan.
Chest X-Ray
A chest x-ray takes a picture of your heart and lungs. It may show granulomas or enlarged lymph nodes in your chest. About 95 out of every 100 people who have sarcoidosis have an abnormal chest x-ray.
Doctors usually use a staging system for chest x-rays taken to detect sarcoidosis:
- Stage 0: Normal chest x-ray
- Stage 1: Chest x-ray showing enlarged lymph nodes but otherwise clear lungs
- Stage 2: Chest x-ray showing enlarged lymph nodes and shadows in your lungs
- Stage 3: Chest x-ray showing shadows in your lungs but the lymph nodes are not enlarged
- Stage 4: Chest x-ray showing scars in the lung tissue.
In general, the higher the stage of the x-ray, the worse your symptoms and lung function are. But there are a lot of differences among people. If your x-ray results show stages 0, 1, 2, or 3, you may not have symptoms of sarcoidosis or need treatment, and you may get better and have normal chest x-rays again over time.
Blood Tests
These tests can show the number and type of cells in your blood. They also will show whether there are increases in your calcium levels or changes in your liver, kidney, and bone marrow that can occur with sarcoidosis.
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