Lymph node biopsies: a hospital based retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION

Lymphadenopathy is a common clinical finding at the outpatient setting that may be caused by a vast array of disease processes.

METHODS

A retrospective study to analyze the histopathological diagnosis of lymph node biopsies with respect to age, sex, and site was conducted. All the lymph nodes sent for histopathological examination from August 2003 to 2007 were included.

RESULTS

Of all patients with enlarged lymph nodes, 49% were males (mean age: 34.52 years) and 51% were females (mean age: 38.1 years). The most common diagnosis was tubercular lymphadenitis (42%), followed by non-specific (reactive) lymphadenitis (23%), metastatic deposits (10%), non-specific granuloma (3%), NHL (2%), and lymphadenitis due to various other causes (7%). Thirteen percent of the biopsied lymph nodes were normal in morphology. Most common site of lymph node enlargement was neck (44%) followed by mesentery (19%) and axilla (16%). Most of the patients were in the age group of 21-30 years (20%).

CONCLUSIONS

The neck lymph nodes were the most commonly sent nodes for histopathological examination and tuberculosis was the most common diagnosis.