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Abstract

Background: Metastatic cervical lymph nodes from head and neck carcinomas are usually site specific with respect to the location of the primary tumor. Therefore, assessment of the distribution of metastatic nodes in patients with unknown primary may provide a clue to the siteof the primary tumor. Elastography can help in characterizing lymph nodes based on the stiffness of tissues.Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of sonoelastography for the diagnosis of malignant cervical lymph nodes by taking histopathology as gold standard.Materials and Methods: A Cross sectional study, prospective study conducted in the Department of Radiology, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital,Karachi, from 01-03-2023 to 31-08-2023. A total of 277 patients suspected of having malignancy with palpable clinical cervical lymph nodes were recruited in this study. Informed consent was taken and data was collected in Performa. Brief history of demographic was taken. Cervical lymph nodes were labeled as malignant on elastographic findings and confirmed on histopathology.Results:The average age of the patients was 50.06±12.56 years. 55.96% were male and 44.04% were female. Incidence of malignant cervical lymph nodes was 36.5% diagnosed by histopathology. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of sonoelastography for the diagnosis of malignant cervical lymph nodes was 97%, 84.7%, 78.4%, 98% and 89.7% respectively. Conclusion: Sonoelastography is a non-invasive and reliable imaging modality for the diagnosis of malignant cervical lymph nodes.