Outline Of The Workup Of Cervical Lymphadenopathy

Discuss the workup of cervical lymphadenopathy. How would your recommendations differ for adult, pediatric, and geriatric patients? Cervical lymphadenopathy is the enlargement or swelling of the cervical lymph nodes. Cervical lymph nodes are the lymph nodes located at the anterior and posterior aspect of the neck and under the jaw. A thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the neck is essential to formulate a differential diagnosis. Cervical lymphadenopathy is not uncommon, especially in children and therefore differential diagnoses are broad (Lang, Kansy, 2014). The causes of cervical lymphadenopathy can be infections, autoimmune disorders, or malignancy. What test would you do first and why? First and foremost, thing to do when a patient comes with cervical lymphadenopathy is to get a detailed history. The history should include questions such as the onset of lump; pain on lump; if the lump is unilateral or bilateral and other lumps present anywhere else in the body; any associated symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, night sweats, weight loss, or poor appetite; and any recent foreign travel, upper respiratory infection or TB exposure. It may be necessary to obtain a detailed sexual, smoking and drug abuse history. Next step is the physical examination by palpating the nodes to assess the size, shape, matting and consistency (Mohseni et al., 2014). In addition, check for tenderness, mobility, erythema and warmth. It is important to