Profile of Lymphadenopathy: An Institutional Based Cytomorphological Study
Aneeta Singh Malhotra1, Mega Lahori1, Arti Nigam2
1Department of Pathology, Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Insights
Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a reliable diagnostic tool for lymphadenopathy, with tubercular lymphadenitis being the most common cause. This method is effective for outpatient settings.
Area of Science:
- Cytopathology
- Oncology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Lymphadenopathy is a frequent clinical finding in hospital outpatient departments.
- Lymph node aspiration is crucial for diagnosing lymphadenitis, lymphomas, and metastatic cancers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the diagnostic patterns of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in lymphadenopathy cases.
- To evaluate the efficacy of FNAC in the Jammu region of India.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of cytological diagnoses from FNAC procedures.
- Data collected from patients presenting with lymphadenopathy in the Jammu region.
- Patient demographics including mean age (21.67 years) and common lymphadenopathy sites (cervical: 71.79%, axillary: 11.11%) were recorded.
Main Results:
- Tubercular lymphadenitis (44.02%) was the predominant diagnosis.
- Reactive lymphadenitis (42.64%) was also a significant finding.
- Metastatic lesions (9.40%) and malignant lymphoma (4.70%) were less common.
- High diagnostic performance metrics were achieved: sensitivity (94.49%), positive predictive value (96.26%), and diagnostic accuracy (91.15%).
Conclusions:
- FNAC is a simple, cost-effective, and reliable investigation for lymphadenopathy.
- The procedure is well-suited for outpatient departments, peripheral hospitals, and dispensaries.
- FNAC plays a vital role in the rapid diagnosis of various lymph node conditions.
Introduction:
Lymphadenopathy is one of the most common clinical presentations of patients attending the outdoor department of a hospital. Lymph node aspiration is of great value for the diagnosis of lymphadenitis, lymphomas, and metastatic carcinoma.
Materials And Methods:
In this study, we have reported the pattern of cytological diagnosis on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of lymphadenopathy cases in Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir state of India. The mean age of all the patients in this study was 21.67 years. The most common site of lymphadenopathy was cervical region (71.79%) followed by axillary region (11.11%).
Results:
Tubercular lymphadenitis (44.02%) was the single most common cause of lymphadenopathy followed by reactive lymphadenitis (42.64%), metastatic lesions (9.40%), and malignant lymphoma (4.70%). The sensitivity of 94.49%, positive predictive value of 96.26%, and diagnostic accuracy of 91.15% was achieved in our study.
Conclusion:
This study highlights the role of FNAC as a simple, inexpensive, relatively painless, rapid, repeatable, and reliable method of investigation for lymphadenopathy, especially in outpatient departments, peripheral hospitals, and dispensaries.
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