Cytological Pattern of Cervical Lymphadenopathy in Children in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Cervical lymphadenopathy is a common presenting complaint in children, the causes of which can bacterial, viral and tubercular infections and malignancies like leukemias, lymphomas and metastasis. FNAC provides a quick diagnosis and helps in further management of patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 160 children with cervical lymphadenopathy in the department of pathology, Government Medical College Srinagar. Results: Most of the patients were in the age group of 11-15 years with a male predominance. Benign diagnosis was made in 96% of cases which include reactive hyperplasia (86.9%), tubercular lymphadenitis (7%) and acute suppurative lymphadenitis (2.4%). Malignant diagnosis was made in only 3.6% of cases. Conclusion: FNAC is a reliable, simple and safe procedure in the diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy and can avoid the need for more invasive procedures like open biopsy.