Nontuberculous mycobacterial cervical adenitis: a ten-year retrospective review.
OBJECTIVE
To review the authors' institutional experience with nontuberculous mycobacterial cervical adenitis in children over a 10-year period.


METHODS
Retrospective chart review.


METHODS
The case histories of 79 children with nontuberculous mycobacterial lymphadenitis who presented to a large tertiary care referral center from 1989 to 1999 were retrospectively analyzed, and the demographics, clinical presentation, methods of diagnosis, and types of surgical intervention they underwent were reported.


RESULTS
The mean age at presentation was 3.6 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1:2, and the frequency of presentation was highest in the winter and spring months. The diagnosis was not immediately apparent to most primary health care physicians because there was a delay between the appearance of the lump and referral for treatment, which was in excess of 8 weeks. Involved nodes were mainly treated surgically. The recurrence rate of complete surgical resection was less than 1%.


CONCLUSIONS
The study highlights the fact that a high index of clinical suspicion is needed to make an early diagnosis of nontuberculous mycobacterial lymphadenitis and lends further weight to the already existing evidence that surgical excision remains the mainstay of successful treatment for lymphadenitis caused by nontuberculous mycobacteria.
Panesar
Jaswinder
J
Department of Otolaryngology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Higgins
Kevin
K
Daya
Hamid
H
Forte
Vito
V
Allen
Upton
U
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008199:Lymphadenitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009164:Mycobacterium Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D009333:Neck; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome