Course and prognosis of sarcoidosis in a nonreferral setting. Analysis of 86 patients observed for 10 years.

Analysis of the course and prognosis of 86 patients with sarcoidosis over a 10-year period of observation in a nonreferral setting (Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program), a prepaid health maintenance organization, revealed no deaths or severe disability due to respiratory failure or cor pulmonale among 12 patients in whom pulmonary fibrosis either was present or developed during the period of observation. The prognosis by stage and overall was not influenced by race. Because of the method of disease identification that was chosen, it is believed the favorable outcome observed more closely approximates the course and prognosis of sarcoidosis as it occurs in the population in general than do series emanating from institutional settings.