Ultrasonic differential diagnosis of cervical tumescent lymph nodes in patients with malignant tumor in head and neck

Objective To explore the value of ultrasonic differential diagnosis of cervical tumescent lymph nodes in patients with malignant tumor in head and neck.Methods The cervical tumescent lymph nodes in 46 patients with malignant tumor in head and neck were confirmed by surgery,then their detection information was analyzed retrospectively.The cervical lymph node number,aspect ratio,shape,border,internal echo,with or without microcalcifications and internal blood flow status were observed by two-dimensional ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasound.Results in 46 patients,there were 22 cases of thyroid carcinoma,15 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma,and 9 cases of malignant lymphoma.Ninty-three cervical lymph nodes were detected by ultrasound,including 75 were metastatic confirmed by pathology,18 were non-metastatic.The aspect ratio of lymph nodes was lower than 1.5,accounted for 84.9%,the unequal echo was found in 75.3% of lymph nodes,unequal border in 74.0% of lymph nodes,microcalcification in 32.9% of lymph nodes.There was significant differences of ultrasonic parameters between metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes(P0.05).The blood flow distribution of metastatic lymph nodes was rich,and the Doppler blood flow velocity(PSV) and resistive index(RI) were higher than those of non-metastatic lymph nodes(P0.05).Conclusion Ultrasound is a convenient and effective method in diagnosis of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with malignant tumor in head and neck.