Sarcoidosis in the West African. A report of eight Nigerian patients with cutaneous lesions.

The clinical features of 8 Nigerian cases of sarcoidosis are presented. All of them had skin lesions and at least one other organ involved. Great variability in morphology of skin lesions was found and patients with discoid lupus erythematosus-like changes, cicatricial alopecia, xanthelasma-like lesions and an annular lichen planus-like picture were observed. Review of the literature revealed only 11 previously reported cases of cutaneous sarcoidosis in West Africa. The question of the rarity of sarcoidosis in West Africa in the light of its high frequency in American Negroes who predominantly descended from West Africans is discussed.