Evaluation of Clinical and Etiological Characteristics of Cases with Pediatric Lymphadenopathy

Abstract

Lymphadenopathies are among the common causes of frequent hospital admissions in childhood.Lymphadenopathy (LAP) may be most frequently seen during the follow-up of infectious diseases, but some chronic, malignant, and autoimmune diseases may also be encountered in the etiology of lymphadenopathy.In this study we aimed to investigate the clinical, epidemiologic, and etiological characteristics of pediatric patients presenting with lymphadenopathy.A total of 380 pediatric patients with lymphadenopathy who were followed up in the Eskisehir Osmangazi University Pediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic between January 2015 and January 2023 were included in the study.The mean age of the patients was 84 months and 65% of the patients were male.According to etiologic characteristics; 359(94%) cases had infectious and 21(6) cases had non-infectious LAP.Most frequently nonspecific lymphadenitis (68%), Epstein-Barr Virus (12.8%), cytomegalovirus (3.6%), suppurative lymphadenitis (1.9%) and tuberculous lymphadenitis (1.8%) were observed in cases with LAP. Cases with non-infectious LAP had rheumatologic diseases (n:11), hemato-oncologic malignancies (n: 6), and congenital cysts (n:4). When infectious and non-infectious LAP cases were compared, involved lymph nodes were larger (p:0.04) in the non-infectious group.In the non-infectious group,lymph nodes were relatively harder and conglomerated(p:0.03, p:0.04).Computed tomography scan was more frequently performed in the non-infectious group(p:0.01).Although lymphadenopathy in childhood is mostly due to infectious causes, rheumatologic diseases, hemato-oncologic malignancies, and congenital cysts should be kept in mind, especially in prolonged, treatment-refractory cases. Detailed history and physical examination are the first and the most important steps in the differential diagnosis of cases presenting with lymphadenopathy to prevent the application of unnecessary tests and investigations