Lymphadenopathy

Key Conditions

Key conditions are the core conditions that the Paediatric Undergraduate and Clerkship Directors of Canada (PUPDOC) felt are essential for graduating medical students to know. The Key Conditions are neither a differential diagnosis nor a clinical approach. They highlight conditions that may be unique to paediatrics, that are essential, or that are common. Key Conditions can present in a number of ways – each is listed as under the most common Clinical Presentation.

• Cervical Adenitis
• Lymphoma
• Mononucleosis
• Reactive Lymphadenopathy

Clinical Approach

Clinical approaches represent one of many methods to think through a clinical presentation, and narrow down a differential diagnosis. There are many conditions that can present with similar symptomatology. These presentations are not meant to contain an exhaustive list of differential diagnoses, but rather outline how to think through patient signs and symptoms, and understand some of the most common and important Paediatric conditions. There are many different ways to approach any clinical presentation, and these approaches are not meant to replace clinical judgement.

Pre-Clerkship

Lecture materials and small group cases are posted here for University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine students. Access to these materials are password protected.

Clerkship

Lecture materials and small group cases are posted here for University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine students. Access to these materials are password protected.

Objectives

By the end of the Paediatric Clerkship, a medical student will be able to:

1. Distinguish between infectious and non-infectious causes of lymphadenopathy in the paediatric population.
2. Recognize the clinical features and propose a management plan for patients with cervical adenitis, mononucleosis, and reactive lymphadenopathy.
3. Recognize the clinical features of lymphoma.

Half Day Cases

• A 2 year old is brought in to your clinic as parents are concerned that she has multiple lymph nodes. On examination, you feel multiple small, mobile lymph nodes measure <0.5 cm in the anterior and posterior cervical chain. The patient is otherwise well.
• A 5 year old child comes in to the emergency department with a swelling in the neck, and fever for 4 days
• A 14 year old girl has had 4 weeks of lymph node swelling on the right side of her neck.

Resources

The following resources have been reviewed and collated by canuc-paeds. These resources are aimed to provide information at the level of the medical student. These include overviews of topics, clinical resources, and useful guidelines that contain relevant materials.