Mycobacterium cervical lymphadenopathy: 1981 update

Abstract

Scrofula or tuberculous cervical lymphadenopathy is a well known disease dating back thousands of years. In spite of antituberculous chemotherapy and public health measures, scrofula persists and is seen not infrequently among the recent immigrants to the United States from Southeast Asia and Mexico. Cervical lymphadenopathy may arise from infections with mycobacteria other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These infections may resemble one another, but it is important to make a distinction between them, for their clinical courses and treatments are different. A tuberculous infection usually responds very well to antituberculous chemotherapy, but a nontuberculous mycobacterial one may require surgical intervention for resolution of the problem. We would like to reawaken an awareness of this distinction and hope this paper will aid the reader in understanding the diagnosis and treatment of scrofula and nontuberculous mycobacterial cervical lymphadenopathy. The subject is reviewed, and illustrative cases are presented.