Streptococcal carriage in children with cervical lymphadenopathy

Aim: To demonstrate the rate of streptococcal carriage in children with unexplained cervical lymphodenopathy (LAP) with clinical examination and ultrasonographic findings as well as by throat culture. Material and Method: A total of 90 children (45 patients and 45 control groups) were included in the study. All the patients were diagnosed radiologically on the basis of ultrasonographic evaluation. Pediatric patients who were followed up for at least 6 weeks for cervical LAP and whose LAP size was greater than 1 cm were studied. Throat culture and anti-streptolysin O titer (ASOT) was ordered for the patient and control groups. Results: LAP size was measured as minimum 20*5 mm and maximum 35*8 mm in US guided measurements. Bacterial reproduction was detected in 13 (28.9%) patients and only in one control subject (2.2%), which was statistically significant. The mean ASOT was found to be lower in the study group (ASOT: 90.70 IU/mL) and higher in the control group (ASOT: 208.00 IU/mL), but no significant difference was found between the groups (p=0.113). Discussion: Throat culture is a non-invasive test, but requires other tests for definitive diagnosis. In our study, bacterial reproduction detected in throat culture correlated with unexplained cervical LAP.