The gastrointestinal tract

Abstract

Autopsy studies of sarcoid patients have demonstrated that scattered granulomas in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are not an unusual finding. Conversely, symptomatic sarcoidosis in the GI tract is rare and occurs in fewer than 1 percent of cases (Tinker et al. 1984; Sprague et al. 1984; Chinitz et al. 1985; Morretti et al. 1993; Fireman et al. 1997). The diagnosis of gastrointestinal sarcoid can be difficult to make, even in patients with pre-existing sarcoidosis, and it can be initially mistaken for malignancy. Case reports provide the bulk of the evidence.