Cytologic patterns of lymph node diseases in Hawassa University Referral Hospital,Southern Ethiopia

Objective:To assess the cytological patterns of lymph node diseases in patient attended Hawassa University Referral Hospital,Southern Ethiopia.Methods:A five years retrospective descriptive study design was conducted on fine needle aspiration cytology reports of patients referred to pathology laboratory of Hawassa University Referral Hospital from September,2009 to September,2014.Results:A total of 1067 lymph nodes were aspirated in the study period.Cervical lymphadenopathy was the most frequent(48.82%)followed by submandibular(22.77%)lymph nodes.The age group of 11-20 years was the most affected age group while age group above 60 with less frequency.Tuberculosis lymphadenitis was the highest(48.82%),chronic non-specific lymphadenitis(20.33%),reactive(16.21%),pyogenic abscess(5.99%)and the rest were malignancies.Conclusions:Lymphadenopathy can be associated with a wide range of disorders.However tuberculosis lymphadenitis is the most common cause of enlarged lymph node in the study area.