Figure 1. The diagnostic algorithm for sarcoidosis.

The diagnosis of sarcoidosis may be established without performing a tissue biopsy (left side of figure). This requires the presence of specific clinical findings that are highly specific for the diagnosis (one of the conditions in the box on the left side of the figure). If none of these specific clinical presentations occurs, then the diagnosis requires tissue biopsy confirmation of granulomatous inflammation, exclusion of alternative causes for the granulomatous inflammation, and documentation that the disease is systemic and is, therefore, not confined to a single organ (pathway on the right side of the figure).

Abbreviations: CXR, chest radiograph; NCG, noncaseating granulomas; ^?, controversial criterion.