The Examination Results of Lymph Nodes in a Tertiary Health Center

Introduction: Lymphadenopathy is the rapid or slow growth of lymph nodes. The differential diagnosis of lymphadenopathy frequently encountered in internal diseases, Ear Nose Throat and infectious diseases clinics has a wide range. The growth of lymph nodes is a common finding during physical examination and most of them are benign. It usually develops due to infectious, neoplastic or autoimmune diseases Localization of lymphadenopathies may also provide important clues in diagnosis. Lymphoma, toxoplasma, rubella, tuberculous lymphadenitis in cervical lymphadenopathies; gastrointestinal system malignancies or lymphoma in supraclavicular lymphadenopathies; In patients with axillary lymphadenopathies, infections such as lymphoma, brucellosis and catarrest disease are common. Objective: To review the diagnostic data of lymphadenopathies in the pathology department of the Faculty of Medicine of Ataturk University. Materials and Methods: The diagnostic results of lymph node excisions in Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine Pathology Department were retrospectively analyzed, categorized, and the number of cases was determined according to the ages. Results: Of the 1658 patients, 835 (52.7%) were reactive lymphadenitis, 462 (29.1%) were malignant tumor metastasis positive lymph node, and 165 (10.4%) were lymphoid malignancy, 122 (7.7%) Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 41 (2.5%) were reported as Hodgkin lymphoma and 2 (0.1%) as plasma cell dyscrasias. 96 (6.0%) of the cases were diagnosed as necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenitis and 27 (1.7%) were diagnosed as non-necrotizing granulomatous lymphadenitis. No histomorphological details of the lymph node were found in 73 specimens (4.6%) that were sent as lymph node excision. Most of the cases were excised from the cervical region and the second line was axillary region. Conclusion: Lymphadenopathies may be the first manifestation of infections and various cancers. In these patients, delayed diagnosis may cause significant medical problems and should be excised without delay for histopathological diagnosis.