Cure Rates for Tuberculous Cervical Lymphadenopathy after 6-month or 9-month Anti-tuberculous Therapy.

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Microbiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis is a common form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
• Current treatment guidelines recommend a 6-month anti-tuberculous regimen.
• The effectiveness of varying treatment durations requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the cure rates of 6-month versus 9-month anti-tuberculous treatment regimens.
• To evaluate treatment outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.

Main Methods:

• A prospective case series involving 38 participants with newly diagnosed tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.
• Serial neck ultrasound assessments were conducted at 6, 9, and 12 months.
• Treatment was extended to 9 months for participants with residual lymphadenopathy >1 cm at 6 months.

Main Results:

• At 6 months, 63.3% of patients were cured; 36.7% required extended treatment.
• At 9 months, only 36.4% of extended-treatment patients were cured.
• At 12 months, recurrence/residual lymphadenopathy was observed in 15.8% (6-month group) and 45.5% (9-month group).

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrated low cure rates for both 6-month and 9-month treatment durations.
• There is insufficient evidence to support the current 6-month treatment recommendation.
• Longer treatment durations did not significantly improve cure rates in this cohort.