Clinical Manifestations and Therapy of Tuberculous Cervical Lymphadenitis

경부 결핵성 림프절염의 임상양상과 치료

Background and Objective： The tuberculous lymphadenitis of neck is one of the most common extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Korea. Although the incidence of pulmonary tuberculo-sis has decreased recently, that of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis has not decreased. In spite of great efforts and diversity of study, the exact criterias of diagnosis and optimal therapeutic methods of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis have been the subject of much debate and still remain unclear. So we intend to enucleate clinical manifestations and suggest the optimal therapeutic manners. Material : The 483 cases, diagnosed as cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis by fine needle aspiration biopsy during the past 10 years from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 1996 Method : Retrospective study Results 1) The overall rate of tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis was 23.4% of neck mass. 2) Incidence ratio of male to female was 1：2.7 3) The frequent location of tuberculous lymphadenitis was posterior cervical area, supraclavicular area, jugular chain in order. 4) The response rate of medical treatment in tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis was 84.9%. 5) The duration of medical treatment in remissioned group was 18.6 months in average. 6) Surgical intervention was needed in 15.1%. 7) The duration of post operative medical treatment was 18.4 months in average. Conclusion : Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis is prevalent in women, age of 20-40 years and mainly involve posterior cervical area. Fine needle aspiration biopsy is a very useful method for early detection of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis. After diagnosis is made, anti-tuberculosis medication is recommended for more than 18 months. Unless the size of neck mass is decreases inspite of the thorough anti-tuberculosis medication for more than 1 month or if complication like as abscess or fistula occurs, surgery is needed with post operative medical treatment for more than 12 months.