Background: The presence of multiple lymphadenopathies can be a diagnostic challenge.
Aim: To describe the clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics of 19 patients with lymphadenopathies of rheumatologic origin.
Material and methods: Review of medical records of 19 patients aged 16 to 72 years (68%) with lymphadenopathies presumably secondary to a rheumatic disease.
Results: Six patients had systemic lupus erythematosus, six had Sjogren's disease, three had sarcoidosis, two had rheumatoid arthritis, one had IgG4 related disease and one had mixed connective tissue disease. A lymph node biopsy was performed in 11 patients and in eight a lymphoid follicular hyperplasia was found. Systemic symptoms were reported by 68% of patients. Blood lactate dehydrogenase was elevated only in cases associated with hemolytic anemia. There was no specific or predictable localization of the lymphadenopathies in imaging studies, except in the cases of sarcoidosis. The average size of the lymphadenopathies was 13.5 mm in diameter in short axis and there was no presence of necrosis, calcification, or conglomerate formation. Only one case presented splenomegaly. All patients responded favorably to corticosteroids.
Conclusions: Lymphadenopathies associated with rheumatologic diseases can occur in a wide variety of diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's disease. The absence of LDH elevation and splenomegaly and the absence of imaging findings such as conglomerates can orient to a rheumatologic origin.