{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "kind": "condition",
  "id": "lymphadenopathy",
  "name": "Swollen Lymph Nodes (Lymphadenopathy)",
  "category": "chronic",
  "sources": "ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class BS01 - condition scope only, no dose · Lymphadenopathy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513250/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Lymphadenopathy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - disease-level clinical article (lymphadenopathy-full.txt)",
  "review_status": "reviewed",
  "verified_against": "No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care · Lymphadenopathy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - disease-level clinical article (lymphadenopathy-full.txt)",
  "verified_date": "2026-08",
  "treatments": [
    {
      "id": 1140,
      "generic": "No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)",
      "line": 1,
      "is_adjunct": false,
      "form": null,
      "strength_mg": null,
      "adult_dose": "Swollen glands are usually reactive to a nearby infection and settle with treatment of the cause. GP treats presumed bacterial lymphadenitis and gives analgesia, but refers if a node is hard, fixed, painless, persistent, or accompanied by systemic symptoms suggestive of lymphoma or TB.",
      "adult_duration": "Refer, with advice",
      "dose_source": "No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care",
      "rationale": "Swollen glands are usually reactive to a nearby infection and settle with treatment of the cause. GP treats presumed bacterial lymphadenitis and gives analgesia, but refers if a node is hard, fixed, painless, persistent, or accompanied by systemic symptoms suggestive of lymphoma or TB.",
      "cautions": [
        "No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.",
        "A supraclavicular node is almost always a sign of an underlying chest or abdominal malignancy.",
        "Review the medication list before working a node up - allopurinol, atenolol, captopril, carbamazepine, cephalosporins, gold, hydralazine, penicillin, phenytoin, primidone, quinidine, sulfonamides and sulindac all cause lymphadenopathy.",
        "Where there is any risk of malignancy or serious illness, go straight to biopsy rather than observing.",
        "Node texture guides the differential: firm rubbery nodes suggest lymphoma, soft nodes infection or inflammation, and hard stony nodes cancer, most often metastatic.",
        "Pain, or its absence, does not reliably separate a malignant node from a benign one.",
        "Nodes clustered and matted together strongly indicate significant pathology.",
        "Size thresholds differ by site - in an adult, an epitrochlear node above 0.5 cm is already pathological.",
        "Adenopathy lasting more than three weeks counts as chronic.",
        "RED FLAG - A node larger than 2 cm persisting beyond 4 to 6 weeks, a hard or immobile node, painless enlargement, generalised (multi-site) lymphadenopathy, or fever, night sweats or weight loss alongside the node."
      ],
      "peds_mgkg_low": null,
      "peds_mgkg_high": null,
      "peds_max_mg": null,
      "peds_basis": null,
      "peds_unit": null,
      "peds_note": "Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is implied.",
      "peds_min_weight_kg": null,
      "peds_max_weight_kg": null,
      "peds_age_min_months": null,
      "peds_age_max_months": null,
      "peds_age_bands": null,
      "peds_doses": null,
      "brands": [],
      "condition_id": "lymphadenopathy"
    }
  ]
}