title: Follow-up results in tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the efficacy of medical antituberculous treatment in patients with tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis (TCL).
  
  
  METHODS
  In the period 1996-2002, 73 TCL patients were reviewed and the results of clinical and laboratory testing were documented. The efficacy of a four-drug chemotherapy regimen was investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Purified protein derivatives (PPD) skin test results were positive in 58 (79 per cent) patients. Chest X-rays revealed changes consistent with tuberculosis in nine (12.3 per cent) patients. The mean duration of medical treatment was 10.04 months. In follow-up evaluation, 14 (20 per cent) patients were considered suspicious for resistant TCL and total excision of all nodes was performed. Histopathology confirmed TB in only 10 of these cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high incidence of residual disease in our study indicates that medical treatment (at least nine months of four combined antituberculous drugs) did not seem to be effective. If lymphadenopathy persists, total surgical excision of lymph nodes should be the treatment of choice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Dicle University Medical School, Diyarbakir, Turkey. oktay0001@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mehmet F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Oktay
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Topcu
authors.forename: Abdurrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Senyigit
authors.forename: Aslan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bilici
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Sebahattin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cureoglu
authors.forename: Muzeyyen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yildirim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014373:Tuberculin / Q000032:analysis; D014388:Tuberculosis, Lymph Node / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D014373:Tuberculin