A clinical study on cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis

Abstract

We retrospectively examined the records of patients treated for cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis in our department and analyzed the effectiveness of the various diagnostic methods. From January 2006 to December 2013, we treated 19 cases of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis. The ages of patients with cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis ranged from 28 to 87 years old (mean, 61.4 years), and the male-to-female ratio was 8:11. Two of the 19 patients with cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis presented with the comorbid condition of pulmonary tuberculosis. The sensitivity of cytological examination, smears, cultures and PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique using an aspiration procedure for cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis were 13.3%, 50%, 60% and 71.4%, respectively. Although the detection ratio of fine needle aspiration cytology alone was low, the aspiration procedure could permit a definitive diagnosis by a combination of smear, culture and PCR. The QuantiFERON test (QFT) was positive in seven of seven cases, and T-SPOT was positive in two of two cases. Thus, QFT and T-SPOT were useful as aids in the diagnosis of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis. For early diagnosis of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis, it is important to consider a combined multimodal approach.