Sarcoidosis in Patients with Antisynthetase Syndrome: Presentation and Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the uncommon co-occurrence of antisynthetase syndrome (AS) and sarcoidosis. METHODS: From 2000 to 2015, patients with sarcoidosis were extracted from a retrospective multicentric cohort of 352 patients with AS. RESULTS: Ten patients (2.8%; 6 men, 8 whites, 5 smokers, median age 50 yrs) had both AS and sarcoidosis. Most of the time, sarcoidosis and AS occurred simultaneously (n = 7). Antibody testing revealed anti-Jo1 (n = 5), anti-PL12 (n = 4), or anti-PL7 (n = 1). Finally, no patient had a worsening of muscular condition, 5 patients presented respiratory deterioration, 3 remained stable, and 2 showed improvement. CONCLUSION: Sarcoidosis may be underdiagnosed in patients with AS.