The aim of this manuscript is to describe radiological findings of extra-pulmonary sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated systemic disease of unknown origin, characterized by non-caseating epitheliod granulomas. Ninety percent of patients show granulomas located in the lungs or in the related lymph nodes. However, lesions can affect any organ. Typical imaging features of liver and spleen sarcoidosis include visceromegaly, with multiple nodules hypodense on CT images and hypointense on T2-weighted MRI acquisitions. Main clinical and radiological manifestations of renal sarcoidosis are nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, and acute interstitial nephritis. Brain sarcoidosis shows multiple or solitary parenchymal nodules on MRI that enhance with a ring-like appearance after gadolinium. In spinal cord localization, MRI demonstrates enlargement and hyperintensity of spinal cord, with hypointense lesions on T2-weighted images. Skeletal involvement is mostly located in small bone, showing many lytic lesions; less frequently, bone lesions have a sclerotic appearance. Ocular involvement includes uveitis, conjunctivitis, optical nerve disease, chorioretinis. Erythema nodosum and lupus pernio represent the most common cutaneous manifestations encountered. Sarcoidosis in various organs can be very insidious for radiologists, showing different imaging features, often non-specific. Awareness of these imaging features helps radiologists to obtain the correct diagnosis.Teaching Points• Systemic sarcoidosis can exhibit abdominal, neural, skeletal, ocular, and cutaneous manifestations.• T2 signal intensity of hepatosplenic nodules may reflect the disease activity.• Heerfordt’s syndrome includes facial nerve palsy, fever, parotid swelling, and uveitis.• In the vertebrae, osteolytic and/or diffuse sclerotic lesions can be found.• Erythema nodosum and lupus pernio represent the most common cutaneous manifestations.
Percutaneous vertebroplasty is emerging as one of the most promising new interventional procedures for relieving (or reducing) painful vertebra, with the injection of surgical polymethylmethacrylate or cement into vertebral bodies. This imaged-guided technique, originally used to treat vertebral hemangioma, has recently been extended to the treatment of metastases, osteoporotic compression fractures, and vertebral myeloma. It is increasingly being accepted as a main treatment of choice in the management of resistant back pain due to vertebral compression fractures, especially in the elderly individual who is not a candidate for surgery. In this article, we review indications, contraindications, technique, and complications of percutaneous vertebroplasty.
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