Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenopathy. Relation of etiologic agents to age

Abstract

Age-related differences in etiology were examined in 214 instances of mycobacterial cervical lymphadenopathy. In adults, Mycobacterium tuberculosis was isolated from 147 lymph nodes and atypical mycobacteria from 7 nodes. M. tuberculosis clearly predominated as the cause of mycobacterial cervical adenitis in adults, other mycobacteria were the cause of most cervical adenitis in children. The predominance of M. avium-intracellulare in cervical adenitis in children contrasts with reports of M. scrofulaceum as the most frequent causative agent in other geographic areas and may reflect a change in causative agents or geographic differences. The finding of M. tuberculosis in 8% of nodes indicates that other mycobacteria cannot be assumed to be the only cause of this disease in children.