A prospective study of management of benign neck swellings at tertiary care centre

Background: Careful medical history and physical examination is must while evaluating neck swelling in which the patient’s age, the location, size, and duration of swelling are crucial points for diagnosis. The objectives of this study were to study the commonest cause of neck swelling in our tertiary hospital set up and to assess the common pathologies presenting as neck swellings in our region and their clinical, radiological and cytopathological correlation to understand the nature of the lesion and accuracy of the diagnostic tools in finding a definitive diagnosis and its respective management. Methods: Total 100 patients from July 2019 to January 2021 of neck swelling were included in this prospective study. They were subjected to detailed clinical history, clinical examination, haematological and hormonal investigation, radiological and cytological investigations. Special investigations were done for some specific cases. Ultrasonography, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and histopathological examinations (HPE) were compared with each other to evaluate their accuracy as a diagnostic tool for neck swellings.   Results: During our study we found that for accurate diagnosis and treatment combined approach based on history, clinical examination, ultrasonography, FNAC and HPE followed by surgical and/or medical management is recommended. Thyroid swellings were most common entity found in neck swelling with female dominating benign neck swellings. Conclusions: Although medical management has its own role in management of benign neck swelling, surgical management consists of treatment of choice.