Histochemical stainings, biological cultures and therapeutic responses of granulomatous lymphadenitis in Ramathibodi Hospital-prospective study of 57 cases.

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to delineate the etiology of granulomatous lymphadenitis which is one of the most common lesions encountered in our routine surgical pathology practice. Fifty-seven lymph nodes diagnosed histopathologically as granulomatous lymphadenitis were cultured and stained by special histochemical stains for tuberculosis, fungus, anaerobic and aerobic bacteria. M.tuberculosis was isolated in 60-70 per cent of lesions. The remaining 30-40 per cent of the lesions failed to demonstrate any infectious agent but most of the available follow-up cases showed satisfactory response to antituberculous drugs. Ziehl-Neelsen's stain showed very low sensitivity but excellent specificity and is still recommended for use to differentiate from other infectious agents in the areas where infectious agents are prevalent.