DefinePK

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to detect and correlate enlarged lymph nodes radiologically with their pathological status, specifically identifying reactive and positive nodes.
Methods: This retrospective observational study was performed at Dr. Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. All patients with biopsy-proven surgically resectable oral cavity cancer from January 2021 to December 2021 were included in this study. Data were gathered, including radiological and histopathological reports. The diagnostic accuracy of the scans was calculated using final histopathology as the gold standard. Data was analysed using SPSS v.26.0.
Results: 222 patients’ data were reviewed, and 89 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the CT scan were 82.98% and 38.04%, respectively. The positive predictive value was 60%, whereas the negative predictive value was 66.67%. We found that the overall accuracy of the CT scan was 61.8%.
Conclusion: We conclude that contrast-enhanced CT scans in lower-middle-income countries remain a viable radiological approach for cervical lymph node assessment that can significantly influence decisions regarding neck dissection, impacting patient survival outcomes and improving quality of life.