WASOG, with support from AASOG, has published a position paper on a more thoughtful use of oral corticosteroids in sarcoidosis. These medicines can quickly reduce inflammation, but long-term use can cause significant side effects. The authors advocate assessing benefits and risks for each patient and considering steroid-sparing strategies when medically appropriate.
This position paper is not an individual recommendation and does not replace a guideline or a discussion with a doctor. Do not stop or change your treatment on your own.
The paper was published as a WASOG position statement, also supported by the American AASOG. The authors re-examine an approach in which oral corticosteroids have long been an initial and often long-term mainstay of treatment. They note that corticosteroids quickly suppress inflammation, but cumulative exposure can carry serious metabolic, bone, cardiovascular and other side effects. Treatment decisions should take into account the organs involved, the risk of permanent damage, disease activity, quality of life, and side effects.
The authors encourage more careful consideration of options that reduce the need for steroids in selected patients. This is a professional position statement and a prompt for individualized assessment—it is not an instruction to stop corticosteroids abruptly or a substitute for a doctor’s decision.
Source type: professional position statement (position paper). Published online on 6 November 2025; printed in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine in 2026; 14(4):363–374.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41207318/
Add comment
Comments