The coexistence of sarcoidosis and hepatitis C: A case report

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic, chronic granulomatous disorder of unknown etiology. Although a number of infectious and non-infectious causes have been suggested, no specific agent has been identified as yet. Hepatitis C virus infection may result in chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis and extrahepatic manifestations of Hepatitis C virus include autoimmune and rheumatic dis-eases and a high prevalence of autoantibodies. The association of sarcoidosis with hepatitis C infection has been reported rarely. We report the case of an asymptomatic chronic Hepatitis C virus infection found in a young male patient following pred-nisolone treatment for pulmonary sarcoidosis. The coexistence of both diseases in the same patient suggested that chronic hepatitis C infection might play a part in the occurrence of sar-coidosis via an undetermined immunopathogenic mechanism. Key words: Sarcoidosis, chronic HCV infection