Body system: Respiratory SystemRegulation: 38 CFR § 4.97DBQ: DBQ RESP Respiratory Conditions (Other than Tuberculosis and Sleep Apnea)
Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that causes tiny clumps of cells (called granulomas) to form in your organs, most commonly your lungs and lymph nodes. The VA rates sarcoidosis from 0% to 100% based on how severely it affects your breathing and overall health. Higher ratings go to veterans who need stronger medications like high-dose steroids to control their symptoms, or who develop serious complications like heart problems or significant weight loss and fevers.
Rating levels
- 100% — You qualify for this rating if your sarcoidosis has caused your heart to fail due to lung problems (cor pulmonale), or if the sarcoidosis has directly affected your heart and caused heart failure with symptoms like shortness of breath and fluid buildup. You also qualify if your lung disease continues to get worse even with treatment and you experience fever, night sweats, and unexplained weight loss.
- 60% — Your sarcoidosis has affected your lungs so severely that doctors must prescribe strong steroid medications (corticosteroids) that you take by mouth or injection to keep your condition under control. These are high-dose, therapeutic steroids that work throughout your whole body (systemic) rather than just inhaled medications. Without these powerful medications, your lung symptoms would become much worse and harder to manage.
- 30% — Your sarcoidosis has affected your lungs and is causing ongoing symptoms that don't go away on their own. You need to take steroid medications (corticosteroids) either at a low daily dose to keep symptoms under control, or you need to take them on and off when symptoms flare up. The lung involvement creates persistent breathing problems or other respiratory symptoms that require this ongoing medication management.
- 0% — You have enlarged lymph nodes near your lungs (hilar adenopathy) or areas of scarring or inflammation in your lungs (lung infiltrates) that show up on imaging tests like X-rays or CT scans, but these findings don't cause you any breathing problems or other symptoms. Your lung function tests are normal, and the condition appears stable and not getting worse over time.