Tr-ENT. 2002; 9(2): 126-130

Comparison of palpation, ultrasound, and computed tomography in the evaluation of lymphatic neck metastasis

Uður Çýnar¹, Özgür Yiðit, Ebru Topuz, Gökhan Akgül, Murat Ünlü, Muzaffer Baþak, Ýrfan Çelebi, Burhan Dadaþ

Objectives: We evaluated the diagnostic value of
palpation, ultrasonography (US), and computed
tomography (CT) in detecting neck metastasis in
head and neck cancers.
Patients and Methods: The study included 35 patients
(34 men, 1 woman; mean age 59 years; range 35 to 72
years) with laryngeal carcinoma. In addition to neck palpation,
17 patients and 27 patients had neck examinations
by US and CT, respectively. Histopathologic
results of the neck specimens were compared with
those obtained from palpation, US, and CT.
Results: The accuracy of CT, US, and palpation in
the evaluation of lymph nodes of the neck were
85%, 65%, and 80%, respectively. Ultrasonography
was found to have the highest sensitivity (100%), but
the least specificity (33%). The highest false positive
and false negative results were obtained by US
(42%) and palpation (10%), respectively.
Conclusion: Computed tomography proved superior
to palpation and US in the evaluation of neck
metastasis in patients with head and neck tumors.

Keywords: Carcinoma, squamous cell; head and neckneoplasms/diagnosis/radiography; lymphatic metastasis;lymph nodes/pathology; magnetic resonance imaging;neck/pathology; palpation; sensitivity and specificity; tomography,x-ray computed; ultrasonography.

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Boyun metastazlarýnýn gösterilmesinde palpasyon, ultrasonografi ve bilgisayarlý tomografinin karþýlaþtýrýlmasý

Uður Çýnar¹, Özgür Yiðit, Ebru Topuz, Gökhan Akgül, Murat Ünlü, Muzaffer Baþak, Ýrfan Çelebi, Burhan Dadaþ

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Anahtar Kelimeler: Karsinom, skuamöz hücreli; baþ-boyunneoplazmlarý/taný/radyografi; lenfatik metastaz; lenfnodlarý/patoloji; manyetik rezonans görüntüleme; boyun/patoloji; palpasyon; duyarlýlýk ve özgüllük; bilgisayarlýtomografi; ultrasonografi.

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