Data on the clinical presentation and outcomes of sarcoidosis patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) are scarce. In this case series, we identified 5 out of 238 sarcoidosis patients who are enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal observational study who developed COVID-19 during the study period and follow their clinical course. Four patients recovered completely, whereas one patient expired during hospital admission. Our preliminary experience suggests that African American patients with chronic sarcoidosis treated with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) or anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy do not seem to be at increased risk of respiratory or life-threatening complications from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) compared with the general population, although at the present time, we advocate for maintaining a high level of vigilance and strict follow-up in this patient population.

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) or temporal arteritis is a granulomatous vasculitis that affects medium-to-large vessels seen primarily in older Caucasian populations. Here, we describe a 67-year-old male who presented with atypical symptoms of worsening headaches associated with left-sided pupil-sparing, isolated third nerve palsy, blurry vision, diplopia and myalgias in bilateral extremities. He was immediately started on intravenous Methylprednisolone for suspected GCA. Subsequent biopsy of the temporal arteries showed panarteritis without giant cells and disruption of the internal elastic lamina. His symptoms improved in a day following treatment and he was discharged on a Prednisone taper. At the time of writing this case, there are only two cases in the literature of ptosis as a presenting symptom in GCA, thus highlighting the importance of recognizing rare red flag symptoms such as ptosis and diplopia. More study is needed in the prognostic significance of these unusual clinical features.