Cervical Lymphadenopathy: A Histomorphological study at a Tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical Lymphadenopathy is one of the most common clinical presentation of the patients visiting the tertiary care hospital. This study was taken to analyze the various causes and to learn about histomorphological spectrum of cervical lymph node lesions. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of all the cervical lymph node excision biopsies received in the department of pathology, Dr B R Ambedkar medical college and hospital for period of 18 months between June 2017 – December 2018. A complete and thorough histomorphological analysis was done. Special stains were carried out wherever necessary. Results: A total of 61 cervical lymph node biopsies were analysed between the age group of 5yrs to 93years. Majority of the patients were in the age group of 21-30 years (15 cases, 24.59%) and 36 cases (59.01%) were male and 25 cases (40.98%) were female with male to female ratio of 1.44: 1, suggesting slight male preponderance. It was also observed that overall non neoplastic lesions (43 cases, 70%) were more frequently encountered compared to neoplastic lesions (18 cases, 30%). Among the non neoplastic lesions, Tuberculous lymphadenitis was the highest with the maximum number of 23 cases (37.70%) and among the neoplastic lesions, metastasis to lymph node was the highest with the maximum number of cases (9 cases, 14.75%). Conclusion: Histomorphological analysis of lymph node excision biopsies still remains the gold standard for establishing the diagnosis. The present study focuses on various non neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of cervical lymph node and their histomorphological features. Keyword: Lymph node, Cervical lymphadenopathy, Histomorphology, Tuberculosis, Metastasis.