A Case Report of Burn Pit Exposure and Coexisting Bone Marrow and Osseous Sarcoidosis in a Veteran

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that can affect any organ system. Emerging data suggest a link between environmental and occupational exposures and disease pathogenesis. With this possible correlation, military personnel are at an especially heightened risk due to deployment-related exposure as burn pits. We describe a case of osseous and bone marrow sarcoidosis in a 52-year-old male veteran with prior deployment and burn pit exposure who presented with progressive back pain and constitutional symptoms. Osseous and bone marrow sarcoidosis are rare and often involve multisystem, advanced disease. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges of extra-pulmonary sarcoidosis, its potential association with deployment-related environmental exposures, and the need for further research to establish causation and inform exposure avoidance, screening, and treatment.