An Important Question: Can Serum Chitotriosidase Enzyme Predict the Activity and Clinical Course of Sarcoidosis Disease?

OBJECTIVE

Serum chitotriosidase (CHIT) is a promising biomarker that has shown high specificity and sensitivity in patients with sarcoidosis. Our study aimed to evaluate the CHIT enzyme concerning the activity, prognosis, and treatment decision of sarcoidosis.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The patients with the following characteristics were included in our single-center study as long as they agreed to participate. These patients were newly or previously diagnosed with sarcoidosis according to American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society/World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders and consulted the outpatient clinic of chest diseases in our university hospital between August 2020 and April 2021. The patients with sarcoidosis were categorized into 3 groups: 1) diagnosed as sarcoidosis but not having the treatment indication; 2) previouslytreated or currently receiving treatment; and 3) newly diagnosed and having a treatment indication.

RESULTS

A total of 126 sarcoidosis patients and 43 healthy volunteers were included. The median value of serum CHIT enzyme levels in patients with sarcoidosis was determined to be 9.8 ng/mL, while it was 5.1 ng/mL in the control group. It was determined that the serum CHIT levels were notably higher in patients with sarcoidosis ( = 0.000). In the serum CHIT levels of the newly-treated patient, a significant reduction was observed after the 6-month treatment ( = 0.008), in comparison with these levels noted at the time of diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that the serum CHIT has a high sensitivity and high specificity in the diagnosis of sarcoidosis and a reduction in the level of that enzyme occurs upon treatment.