Does sarcoidosis have a role in predisposing to venous thromboembolic events?

Introduction Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic disorder of an unclear etiology. It has been postulated that sarcoidosis is a chronic autoimmune inflammation which may predispose to venous thromboembolism (VTE). Recent studies showed increased VTE events in patient with sarcoidosis and other autoimmune disorders. This multicenter retrospective study aims at determining a possible correlation between VTE and sarcoidosis. Methods We reviewed charts from a commercial database (Explorys Inc, Cleveland, OH, USA) which is an aggregate of electronic health records from 26 major healthcare systems. We included patients between ages 30 and 69. Patients with a condition known to cause hypercoagulable state were excluded. We calculated the prevalence of VTE in patients with without a diagnosis of sarcoidosis and compared the results. A multivariate analysis was performed to adjust for gender, race, age, tobacco use and obesity (BMI > 30). Results The overall prevalence of the VTE in patients without sarcoidosis was 1.4% compared to 4.9% in patients with sarcoidosis (Table 1). Patients with sarcoidosis were more likely to develop VTE [OR: 2.96; 95% CI 2.84-3.08, P value < 0.001]. Predictors of VTE in patients with sarcoidosis were gender, age, race, and obesity, (Table 3). Conclusion Our study indicates that sarcoidosis poses a risk of developing VTE. Limitations include our study being retrospective, additionally our data analysis lacks the stages of pulmonary sarcoidosis. Further prospective studies are needed to shed light on this association and explain the prothrombotic phenotype of sarcoidosis.