Author(s): Imran Ahmed, Shahkamal Hashmi, Farzeen Tanwir and Sadia Ahmed
Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the common presentations and etiologies of cervical lymphadenopathy and to find out the frequency of tuberculosis in cases with cervical lymphadenopathy. Background: Cervical lymphadenopathy is a common presenting complaint in an outpatient department. There are number of etiologies which can cause cervical lymph nodes to swell, ranging from simple inflammatory reactions to fatal malignancies. Tuberculosis is an important and frequent cause of cervical lymphadenopathy which is more prevalent in low income countries. Fine needle aspiration and excisional biopsies are usually done to make a definitive diagnosis. Methods and Material: The study was conducted from July 2010 to august 2013 at the surgery department of Ziauddin Medical University hospital Karachi, Pakistan. Inclusion criteria included all patients with cervical lymphadenopathy. There was no age, gender limitations to participate in the study. Results: Overall 175 patients with cervical lymphadenopathy participated, out of those 146 were females and 29 were males with an age range of 13 years to 67 years. Most common presentation was a neck mass which was present in 175 (100%) patients followed by 139 (79.42%) with generalized weakness, 127 (72.57%) with weight loss, 62 (35.42%) with fever, while 31 (17.71%) with headache. Examination and investigations disclosed that 109(62.28%) patients had tuberculosis, followed by 45 (25.71%) that shown reactive lymphadenopathy, 8 (4.57%) cases diagnosed as lymphoma, 7 cases (4%) had metastasis, while 6 (3.4 %) participants had acute lymphadenitis as the cause of their lymphadenopathy. Conclusion: Cervical lymphadenopathy is prevalent in Pakistan, with most likely diagnosis as Tuberculosis, as seen in majority of the cases. Neck mass, headache and fever are the most frequent presentation of cervical lymphadenopathy.
