Objective. To study risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 in patients with sarcoidosis (S) and the features of viral shedding in them during the development of COVID-19.
Subjects and methods. Nineteen case histories of S patients who had fallen ill with COVID-19 were analyzed. The diagnosis of S was confirmed morphologically, whereas COVID-19 was confirmed mainly by positive PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Mediastinal, pulmonary-and-mediastinal, and pulmonary S were diagnosed in 11, 6, and 2 cases, respectively. Sixteen patients with S before COVID-19 had a stable clinical condition that required no medical support. In unstable S, 1 patient took azathioprine (100 mg/day) and two had metypred (8 mg/day). As a result of treatment, all the patients with S recovered from COVID-19. All the 19 patients underwent an epidemiological analysis that included an assessment of the likely sources of SARS-CoV-2.
Results. The patients with S were found to have contacts for coronavirus: familial (n = 8), working (n = 6), nosocomial (n = 3), household (n = 1), and unidentified (n = 1) contacts. The mean duration of viral shedding was 10.6±2.8 days in the S patients. Six patients with S had mild COVID-19; 13 had a moderate course with recovery.
Conclusion. The main risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in S are familial and working contacts: being in the same room with the source of infection and professional activities associated with numerous contacts with a large number of people. COVID-19 in S patients was characterized by its mild and moderate clinical course. The mean duration of viral shedding in this case was 10.6±2.8 days.

Keywords: viral shedding, COVID-19, sarcoidosis, risk factors