Generalized lymphadenopathy explained

Generalized lymphadenopathy
Field:	Infectious disease

Generalized lymphadenopathy is swollen lymph glands in many areas of the body.^[1]

Usually this is in response to a body-wide infectious disease such as influenza and will go away once the person has recovered, but sometimes it can persist long-term, even when there is no obvious cause of disease. This is then called persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL).__TOC__

Causes

• Infection :
  • Viral : Infectious mononucleosis, Infective hepatitis, AIDS
  • Bacterial : Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, secondary syphilis, Tularemia
  • Protozoal : Toxoplasmosis
  • Fungal : Histoplasmosis
• Malignant :
  • Leukaemia
  • Metastatic carcinoma
• Immunological :
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Felty's syndrome
  • Still's disease
  • Drug hypersensitivity as Hydantoin, Hydralazine, Allopurinol
• Misc. :
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Amyloidosis
  • Lipid storage disease
  • Hyperthyroidism

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lymphadenopathy and Malignancy - December 1, 2002 - American Family Physician . www.aafp.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20021217014151/http://www.aafp.org/afp/20021201/2103.html . 2002-12-17.