[Computerized tomography in the detection of metastatic cervical lymph nodes]

The accuracy of computed tomography (CT) in detecting cervical lymph node metastases was studied. Twenty patients with squamous carcinoma of the head and neck were selected. The results obtained by cervical palpation, CT and postoperative histological study were compared. Palpation had a sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 100%. CT had a sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 100%. The small gain in sensitivity does not justify the systematic use of CT to study cervical lymph nodes in head and neck squamous carcinoma.