Background: Few large cohorts of patients with lymph node tuberculosis (LNTB) have been reported in developed countries.
Objective: To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of LNTB in patients living in France but born and raised in geographic areas with varying burdens of tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
Design: A retrospective study of all patients with bacteriologically-proven LNTB assessed in a French hospital from March 1996 through April 2005.
Results: The analysis included 92 patients. HIV coinfected patients had a higher risk than those without HIV of presenting with disseminated TB and systemic symptoms and of hospitalization. Lymph node diagnostic procedures had a high yield when samples were cultured. About 25% of patients had an abnormal chest radiograph, and most of them were positive for acid-fast bacilli on sputum smears or for Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture. Treatment was generally prescribed for a longer duration than that recommended by international guidelines. One quarter of the patients developed a paradoxical reaction. A high proportion of our patients were classified as nonadherent and 20% defaulted or were lost to follow-up.
Conclusion: Most of the differences in the clinical presentation among patients from various geographic areas were driven by the epidemiology of TB and HIV in the countries of origin. LNTB is frequently a clinical sign of disseminated disease, and culture for M. tuberculosis from LN or other sites is crucial for diagnosis. Adopting the strategy of Directly Observed Treatment, Short course (DOTS) might reduce the rates of nonadherence and default.
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