Sarcoidosis presenting with posterior mediastinal lymphadenopathy.

A young man with exertional dyspnea, maculopapular skin lesions, and generalized lymphadenopathy was found to have a posterior mediastinal density on a chest roentgenogram. Sarcoidosis was diagnosed on the basis of lymph node and skin biopsy findings, and corticosteroid therapy was started. After six months of treatment the patient was free of symptoms and the posterior mediastinal density had resolved. Although posterior mediastinal lymphadenopathy is an infrequent roentgenographic manifestation of sarcoidosis, this possibility should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of a posterior mediastinal density.