AbstractObjective: Despite progress in prophylaxis and treatment modalities, tuberculous (TB) lymphadenitis still remains a major health problem in developing countries. In India, extrapulmonary TB accounting 20% of all TB cases and its prevalence in the country varies between 8.3% and 13.1%. The aim of this study was to describe various cytological pictures of tuberculous lymphadenitis with their relative frequency and to assess correlation between Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) staining in diagnosing tuberculous lymphadenitis. Materials and Methods: A total of 132 cases with cytological proven tuberculous lymphadenitis were taken up for the study. Details such as age, sex, group of lymph nodes involved, type of aspirate, cytomorphological patterns and Acid fast bacilli (AFB) positivity on ZN staining were analysed. Results: The sites of distribution of lymphadenopathy were as follows: Cervical lymph nodes – 109, Axillary – 21, Inguinal lymph nodes – 02. Cytological patterns in all 132 cases were as follows: Pattern A – 22, Pattern B – 73, Pattern C – 37 cases. On grading of AFB positivity, Grade 1+ observed in 22.7%, Grade 2+ observed in 31.6% 2, and Grade 3+ observed in 45.5% cases. Conclusion: FNAC is a simple, cost effective and minimally invasive technique to diagnose tuberculous lymphadenitis. Since granuloma formation is not often seen in purulent aspirate, ZN staining must be done to rule out tuberculous lymphadenitis.
Keywords: Cytomorphological Patterns; Tuberculous Lymphadenitis; Ziehl Neelsen Stain