Babina Sorokhaibam, Najeeya Shah, Babina Sarangthem, Ratan Konjengbam
BACKGROUND Lymph nodes are an important part of immune system. Their enlargement is noted in a wide spectrum of diseases, including infections and malignancies, which are a common finding in clinical practice. Lymphadenopathy is common in all age groups and management of cases depends on the pathology, which can be studied by collecting material through fine-needle aspiration cytology. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective study of FNAC of 1000 cases of lymphadenopathy presenting to the Department of Pathology for 5 years. RESULTS Non-neoplastic lesions account for 72.3% with neoplastic lesions accounting 27.7%. Reactive hyperplasia was seen most often (40.3%) followed by Tubercular lymphadenitis (29.3%). Metastasis was seen in 26.4% where squamous cell deposits were commonest. Cervical lymph nodes were involved most often in all types of lymphadenopathy. CONCLUSION Reactive hyperplasia and tubercular lymphadenitis were the most common among patients presenting with lymph node swellings. FNAC is a simple, safe, reliable, and inexpensive method in early detection of lymph node lesions.
