[Pulmonary sarcoidosis developing during treatment with etanercept].

INTRODUCTION

TNF blockers are widely used to treat inflammatory rheumatic diseases and also in the treatment of extrapulmonary sarcoidosis. TNFα plays a major role in the development and persistence of sarcoid granulomata. However, recent studies have reported the involvement of anti-TNF therapies in the development of granulomatosis associated with the clinical and radiological features of sarcoidosis.

CASE REPORT

A 54-years-old man with ankylosing spondylitis was treated with etanercept for two years. He was admitted with symptoms of bronchitis associated with radiological evidence of bilateral pulmonary nodules and a right upper lobe infiltrate. Anti-TNF therapy was stopped even though the patient had received 3 months of prophylactic treatment with rifampicin and isoniazid before starting etanercept. Bronchoalveolar lavage excluded infection, particularly tuberculosis. The chest CT-scan showed bilateral pulmonary nodules with peribronchovascular micronodules and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. Surgical lung biopsy was performed and revealed non-caseating granulomata. All the data were consistent with a diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis. The patient remained symptomatic despite discontinuation of etanercept for ten months. Corticosteroids were then introduced, leading to a clinical, functional and radiological improvement.

CONCLUSION

This case report underlines the importance of studying the pulmonary complications of TNF blockers. The first priority is to exclude tuberculosis but a diagnosis of sarcoid-like granulomatosis has to be considered. Twenty-three cases have been described in the literature to date.