Distribution of lymph nodes in the neck in cases of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.

Objective: To investigate the distribution of lymph nodes in the neck during the process of development of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis (TCL) in patients attending an outpatient clinic over a 1-year period.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study which included 100 cases of histopathologically confirmed TCL of >6 weeks duration.

Results: Lymph nodes in the posterior triangle (PT) were found to be commonest (51%), followed by those in the upper deep cervical (UDC; 48%) and submandibular (SM; 36%) regions. The supra-clavicular (SC; 3%), submental (Sment; 4%) and lower deep cervical (LDC; 9%) regions were found to be the least frequently affected. Uni- and bilateral disease were observed in 83% and 17% of patients, respectively. A single group of lymph nodes was involved in 68% of patients, 2 groups in 29% and >2 groups in 13% of patients.

Conclusions: These results indicate that if unilateral, painless, enlarged and mated lymph nodes are found in either the PT or the UDC or SM areas, lymphadenitis of tuberculous origin should be suspected rather than lymphadenitis of any other etiology.