COLOR-CODED DUPLEX SONOGRAPHY IN THE HEAD AND NECK - A COMPARISON OF BENIGN AND MALIGNANT CERVICAL LYMPH-NODES

Color-coded duplex sonography is being increasingly used in the head a nd neck as another method for diagnosis of such disorders as stenosis of arteries or veins or hemangiomas. A possible additional advantage o f testing is the ability to differentiate benign from malignant tumors . Since the underlying cause of a suspicious lesion is most important for treatment strategies, we investigated histologically-proven benign and malignant cervical lymph nodes for determining the value of color -coded duplex sonography. In the present study, 135 patients (45 women and 90 men; ages 30-63 years) with palpable cervical lymph nodes were examined with both ultrasound and color-coded duplex sonography. Afte rwards, lymph nodes were removed by open biopsies or neck dissections. The histological results were then compared to perfusion velocities a nd pulsation indices from the color-coded duplex sonography. However, no significant differences were found between the benign and malignant nodes. When comparing perfusion and color, each group was seen to be non-homogeneous and no typical distribution of vascularization was dem onstrable. Findings showed that color-coded duplex sonography is curre ntly not an accurate indicator of lymph node pathology.