Ulcerative colitis and sarcoidosis.

A 38-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis subsequently developed sarcoidosis. After ten years of recurrent episodes of colitis, she had presented with respiratory symptoms. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis was confirmed by mediastinal lymph node biopsy. Her respiratory symptoms gradually resolved without any specific treatment. Within the remission period of sarcoidosis, she underwent uneventful subtotal colectomy due to refractory colitis. Alterations in immune function and genetic susceptibility have been suggested to be present in both ulcerative colitis and sarcoidosis. However, the occurrence of both in the same patient has been rare. This is only the nineteenth case reported in the literature.