[Palpation and sonography of lymph node metastasis of the neck]

In a retrospective study, the diagnostic value and ranking of preoperative palpation and sonography for the identification of cervical lymph nodes was assessed in 130 patients with tumours of the head and neck. The diagnostic accuracy (85%) of palpation is below that of sonography (90%). The importance of sonography lies in reducing false negative findings. The increase in sensitivity (palpation 74%, sonography 90%) is, however, offset by an increase in false positive findings, i.e. by a reduction in specificity (palpation 94%, sonography 90%).