Patient characteristics
Epidemiological differences between individuals with CS were found to be
significant determinants of appropriate therapy in some studies, most
notably age and sex. Male sex was shown to be a predictor of appropriate
therapy in research from Schuller et al. (72.2% vs. 51.5%, P =
0.025)(7), Kron et al. (73.8% vs. 59.6%, P = 0.0330)(14), and more
recently from Mathijssen et al. (HR 2.33, P = 0.046)(10). Azoulay et
al.’s meta-analysis also showed that male sex predicted appropriate
therapy (OR 2.06, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.37-3.09, P = 0.0005),
also finding young age to be a significant factor (-3.33, 95% CI -6.42
to -0.23, P = 0.004)(5). This finding was also significant in the Mohsen
et al. study (47.4 vs. 56, P = 0.031), however only approached
statistical significance in the aforementioned Schuller et al. and Kron
et al. studies (P = 0.052 for both).
It is worth noting that the burden of CS differs between ethnic groups,
with previous studies showing varied rates of cardiac sarcoid-related
death between them(18–20). Many of the above studies do not include
this dataset, and as such are unable to draw conclusions around the
impact of appropriate therapies in differing populations.