Benign lymphadenopathies in children and adolescents

This article provides and overview of the benign causes of lymphadenopathy (LA) in the pediatric population. Because of the topics' broad nature, this review is a selective one and primarily focuses on benign conditions of lymph nodes that may be confused with malignant disorders or have been described or better defined in recent years. Specifically, these will include infectious LA caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and cat scratch disease (CSD), LA associated with vaccination, drug-associated LA, progressive transformation of germinal centers (PTGC), LA associated with autoimmune disorders, histiocytic proliferations involving lymph nodes, and Kawasaki disease.