Long-Term Follow-Up Results of Granulomatous Lymphadenitis Diagnosed by Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy

Introduction Endobronchial ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (EBUS-FNAB) is a minimally invasive method used to obtain cytological or histological specimens of masses and lymphadenopathies (LAP) adjacent to the trachea and bronchi. Granulomas, which represent a chronic inflammatory response and occur for a variety of reasons, like a 'sarcoid-like reaction', cause LAPs. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the long-term follow-up results of granulomatous lymphadenitis diagnosed with EBUS-FNAB and to investigate whether granulomatous lymphadenopathies were precursors of malignancies that occurred during the follow-up period. Material and methods The medical records of 123 patients who underwent EBUS-FNAB and were diagnosed with granulomatous lymphadenitis were retrospectively reviewed. Age, gender, acid-fast bacilli (ARB) staining, tuberculosis culture and tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction (PCR) culture results were examined by FNAB, and the procedure indications of all patients diagnosed with granulomatous lymphadenitis were recorded. The long-term health records of 52 patients could not be accessed. Data were collected from 71 patients. The progression, regression or stable conditions of LAPs in the long-term radiological follow-up of at least two years and the treatment conditions of diagnosis after biopsy were examined. Results One hundred twenty-three patients were included in the study. Rapid onset evaluation (ROSE) was performed in 93 (75.6%) patients. In 62 (66.6%) of the 93 patients, the smear results were consistent with granulomatous reaction at baseline. Malignancy was present in seven patients (5.6%) at the time of the procedure. In two patients (1.62%), tuberculous lymphadenitis was diagnosed by a positive tuberculosis culture. The long-term follow-up results were not obtained in 52 (42.7%) patients included in the study. At the long-term follow-up of six patients' LAPs with known malignancies, three of them regressed, one of them progressed, and two of them remained stable after chemoradiotherapy. Methylprednisolone treatment was started in eight patients with the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. While LAP remained stable in five patients, regression was observed in three patients. Idiopathic LAPs remained stable in 24 of 55 patients who received no treatment and regressed spontaneously in 31 of them. One of the patients was diagnosed with lymphoma, and the other patient was diagnosed with primary lung cancer in the long-term follow-up. Conclusion In cases where tuberculosis is suspected, not only cytomorphology but also microbiological confirmation is important. Granulomatous lymphadenitis can be detected both in the disease course of patients with a history of malignancy and as a precursor to undiagnosed malignancy. So the diagnosis of granulomatous lymphadenitis is a clinicopathological diagnosis that must be followed up in patients without symptoms or other findings.