Background
Cervical lymphadenopathy is usually defined as cervical lymph nodal tissue measuring more than 1 cm in diameter, and can be caused by benign local or generalized infection, but occasionally, it might herald the presence of a more serious disorder such as malignancy. Cervical lymphadenopathy can be soft, firm, or stony hard according to the disease process by which they involved. Clinical examination, radiological studies, and biopsies can lead to a definitive diagnosis.
Aim
This work aimed to study in detail the results of cervical lymphadenopathy that was removed surgically, and its value in detecting pulmonary diseases (i.e. to analyze the pathological spectrum of variant benign or malignant diseases affecting the cervical lymph node).
Patients and methods
This was a prospective and retrospective study of 32 patients who presented with respiratory symptoms discovered during a physical examination to have cervical lymphadenopathy, were admitted, and were treated surgically at Al-Shaheed Ghazi El-Hareri Hospital of the Medical City Teaching Complex during the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. Proper assessment of history and clinical examination, in addition to radiological studies and biopsy analysis, were performed to analyze the causes of cervical lymphadenopathy.
Results
Twenty-one of our patients were males; the remaining 11 patients were females. The youngest patient was a 10-year-old male and the oldest patient was a 50-year-old male. Fever was the most common presenting feature in 26 patients. All patients were referred for neck ultrasound to detect the size of the enlarged nodes; 23 patients had a lymph node diameter of more than 1 cm. Chest radiography was performed for all patients; it was found that 22 patients had central lesions (closed to the hilum). Computed tomography-chest showed pleural effusion in 18 patients, lung masses in 16 patients, and mediastinal masses in nine patients.
Conclusion
Cervical lymph node involvement has a major impact on the prognosis and treatment decision in patients with pulmonary malignancy.