INCIDENCE OF TUBERCULOUS LYMPHADENITIS IN CERVICAL LYMPHADENOPATHY AMONG PATIENTS OF EXTRAPULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

Aim: To find the incidence of tuberculous lymphadenitis in patients with cervical lymphadenopathy in low socio economic group.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Pathology and Medicine Unit II department of Services hospital Lahore for one year duration from March 2019 to March 2020. Ten patients were admitted with neck edema / mass in accordance with criteria established on the basis of proforma. A thin needle cytology (FNAC) procedure was used to diagnose pathological changes. All collected information was entered into a previously agreed form, and statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 18 version.

Results: 110 patients with cervical lymph nodes, 68 (61.81%) women and 42 (38.18%) men were included in the study. In this study, the patients' age ranged from 10 to 65 years, with an average of 33.5 ± 13.4 years. All patients had low income levels. The main complaints of these patients were fever, weight loss and general weakness. While tuberculosis was the dominant diagnosis in enlarged cervical lymph nodes in 80 patients (72.54%), 11 (10%) reactive hyperplastic lymphadenopathy was another common finding. Two patients (1.81%) were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 4 patients (3.63%) had metastases. Kikuchi disease in 1 (0.99%) case was a rare diagnosed disease. Twelve cases were not diagnostic in FNAC.

Conclusion: Chronic granulomatous cervical lymphadenitis (tuberculosis) is a common lung disease in Pakistan. Poor young women and children in our society are frequent victims of this disease. For this reason, it can be thought that tuberculosis in any patient with cervical lymphadenopathy for a long time and that FNAC should exclude this disease.

Key words: chronic granulomatous lymphadenitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, FNAC, lymphadenopathy.