Abstract:

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease with unknown etiology and pathogenesis, which can affect multiple organs such as the lungs, lymph nodes, skin, kidneys, and eyes, among which the incidence of kidney involvement is relatively high. The main clinical manifestations of renal sarcoidosis are renal tubular dysfunction and hypercalcemia related renal disease. The pathological characteristics are accumulation of noncaseating necrotizing epithelioid granuloma and interstitial nephritis. Since renal sarcoidosis has an insidious onset and non-specific clinical manifestations and their is a lack of unified diagnostic standards, it is easy to be ignored by clinicians. Severe kidney involvement can lead to acute or chronic renal failure, and even progress to end-stage renal disease. Early diagnosis and timely application of glucocorticoids or immunosuppressants can improve the prognosis. This article reviews the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, treatment, and prognosis of renal sarcoidosis, with an aim to provide a new idea for clinical management of renal sarcoidosis.

Key words: Renal sarcoidosis, Disturbance of calcium metabolism, Noncaseating granuloma, Interstitial nephritis, Corticosteroids