Abstract
Background: In adults, lymph nodes are not normally palpable. A number of patients with asymptomatic lymphadenopathy never visit physicians for the condition, and thus, this important sign is often missed by the medical practitioner if it is not the presenting complaint. The incidence of lymphadenopathy is suggested to be increasing. While lymphadenopathy is benign and self-limiting in most patients, the underlying disease may range from treatable infectious etiology to malignant neoplasms. In most cases clinical examination and history guide towards the cause of lymphadenopathy. In recent years, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has become an easy clinical tool (with or without the assistance of CT, MRI, and ultrasound) for the diagnosis of the underlying cause of lymphadenopathy.Aims and objectives: To find out the cytomorphological pattern in superficial lymphadenopathy with the help of FNAC.Materials and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at HBS General Hospital, Islamabad from January 2017 to June 2019. Patients presenting with superficial lymphadenopathy were included in the study. FNAC was performed by the pathologist, histopathological reports were examined and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results: Six hundred and thirty-two patients underwent FNAC. Tuberculous lymphadenitis was the most common diagnosis (56.1%) followed by reactive hyperplasia (28.29%). The sample showed metastatic malignancy 3.36% and lymphoma 2.05%. Cervical lymphadenopathy was the most common site for TB (49.36%). Metastatic cancer observed in cervical lymph nodes was 3.16% and lymphoma was 1.74%.Conclusion: FNAC is recognized as a simple and safe diagnostic technique that can diagnose cases of superficial and deep lymphadenopathy easily. The most common cause of superficial lymphadenopathy in our study was tuberculosis with cervical lymph nodes.
Highlights
Lymphadenopathy, considered as an abnormality within the size or nature of lymph nodes, is produced by the invasion or dispersion of either inflammatory cells or neoplastic cells into the node
Metastatic cancer observed in cervical lymph nodes was 3.16% and lymphoma was 1.74%
The current study focused on cytomorphological patterns assessed by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in cases of superficial lymphadenopathy presenting to a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad
Summary
Lymphadenopathy, considered as an abnormality within the size or nature of lymph nodes, is produced by the invasion or dispersion of either inflammatory cells or neoplastic cells into the node. It results from an enormous array of disease processes [1]. Lymphadenopathy in children is mostly benign or infectious in etiology. Lymphadenopathy lasting less than two weeks or greater than 12 months without change in size is unlikely to be neoplastic in origin [3,4]. While lymphadenopathy is benign and self-limiting in most patients, the underlying disease may range from treatable infectious etiology to malignant neoplasms. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has become an easy clinical tool (with or without the assistance of CT, MRI, and ultrasound) for the diagnosis of the underlying cause of lymphadenopathy
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
