This paper presents the results of surgery and chemotherapy for 34 cases of cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis treated at the Department of Surgery, National Police Hospital form September 1988 to August 1993 inclusive.
Disagreement exists as to criteria for diagnosis, but our experience indicates that the results of histopathologic examination supply the only criterion of importance. All patients were treated with surgical intervention and antituberculosis
chemotherapy. Their operations were excisional biopsy (58.9%), I & D (17.6) and wide excision (23.5%), and their recurrence rates were 15%, 33.3% and 0% in order. Chemotherapy regimens were isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol (or
streptomycin) and the average duration was 11.8 months.
The treatment of choice seems to be surgical wide excision and long term (9-12months) antituberculosis drugs.
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