Baseline characteristics of 40 patients included in the analysis
| Characteristics | Conventional active | Conventional inactive | P value |
| (n=33) | (n=7) | ||
| Age (years), mean±SD | 64.0±12.0 | 58.4±16.9 | 0.30 |
| Male, n (%) | 15 (46) | 5 (71) | 0.20 |
| CS diagnosed by JCS2016 guideline | |||
| Histological diagnosis | 5 (15) | 0 (0) | 0.36 |
| Clinical diagnosis | 28 (85) | 7 (100) | 0.27 |
| Extracardiac sarcoidosis | |||
| Lung, n (%) | 23 (70) | 4 (57) | 0.41 |
| Eye, n (%) | 2 (6) | 2 (29) | 0.13 |
| Skin, n (%) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0.83 |
| Grandula submandibularis, n (%) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0.83 |
| ECG findings | |||
| Advanced AVB, n (%) | 4 (12) | 0 (0) | |
| Vf, n (%) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | |
| Sus-VT, n (%) | 2 (6) | 0 (0) | |
| Non-sus VT, n (%) | 20 (61) | 0 (0) | |
| Multifocal frequent PVCs, n (%) | 17 (52) | 3 (43) | 0.50 |
| CRBBB, n (%) | 13 (39) | 1 (14) | 0.21 |
| CLBBB, n (%) | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0.83 |
| Pathological Q wave, n (%) | 9 (27) | 1 (14) | 0.43 |
| Abnormal axis deviation | 3 (9) | 1 (14) | 0.55 |
| Any one of Sus-VT, advanced AVB, Vf, non-sus VT observed, n (%) | 23 (70) | 0 (0) | |
| Echocardiography findings | |||
| Basal thinning of the ventricular septum, n (%) | 13 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.48 |
| Other morphological abnormalities of the ventricular walls, n (%) | 18 (55) | 1 (14) | 0.06 |
| LVEF, mean±SD (%) | 47.9±16.0 | 61.4±9.5 | 0.04 |
| LVEF <50% | 19 (58) | 1 (14) | 0.046 |
| Regional wall motion abnormalities | 21 (63) | 1 (14) | 0.02 |
| Follow-up of echocardiography more than 6 months, n (%) | 13 (40) | 1 (14) | 0.21 |
| Follow-up time (months) of patients with multiple echocardiography, median (25%–75%) | 87 (40–116) | 118 | 0.29 |
| Greater than 5% decrease in LVEF, n (%) | 7 (50) | 0 (0) | |
| Gallium-scintigraphy | |||
| Gallium-scintigraphy performed, n (%) | 28 (85) | 6 (86) | 0.72 |
| Positive uptake of gallium in the myocardium, n (%) | 7 (21) | 0 (0) | |
| Laboratory data | |||
| ACE (U/L), mean±SD | 12.3±3.3 | 17.0±1.5 | 0.11 |
| Lysozyme (μg/mL), median (25%–75%) | 5.9 (4.7–6.5) | 8.2 (6.4–10.6) | 0.06 |
| sIL-2R (U/mL), median (25%–75%) | 260 (244–332) | 486 (292–763) | 0.03 |
| ACE positive, n (%) | 4 (12) | 0 (0) | |
| Lysozyme positive, n (%) | 16 (49) | 0 (0) | |
| sIL-2R positive, n (%) | 8 (24) | 0 (0) | |
| Any one of ACE, lysozyme or sIL-2R positive, n (%) | 20 (61) | 0 (0) | |
| Brain natriuretic peptide (pg/mL), median (25%–75%) | 19.1 (14.1–61.9) | 93.4 (29.6–469.8) | 0.08 |
| High-sensitivity troponin value available, n (%) | 13 (39) | 3 (43) | 1.00 |
| High-sensitivity troponin (ng/mL), median (25%–75%) | 0.006 (0.004–0.026) | 0.024 (0.019–0.034) | 0.14 |
| Baseline medications | |||
| β-blockers, n (%) | 15 (45) | 1 (14) | 0.21 |
| ACE inhibitors, n (%) | 8 (24) | 2 (29) | 1.00 |
| ARB, n (%) | 7 (21) | 1 (14) | 1.00 |
| Diuretics, n (%) | 12 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.08 |
| Antiarrhythmic drugs other than β-blockers, n (%) | 3 (9) | 0 (0) | 1.00 |
AVB, atrioventricular block; CLBBB, complete left bundle branch block; CRBBB, complete right bundle branch block; CS, cardiac sarcoidosis; ECG, electrocardiogram; JCS, Japanese Circulation Society; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; non-sus VT, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia; PVC, premature ventricular contraction; sIL-2R, soluble interleukin 2 receptor; sus-VT, sustained ventricular tachycardia; Vf, ventricular fibrillation.