Epidemiological Profile of the Head- Neck Pathologies in a Peripheral Referral Institute

• Main Authors: Sabyasachi Ghosh, Tarak Nath Saha, Indranil Sen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Association of Otolaryngologists of India, West Bengal 2019-08-01
• Series: Bengal Journal of Otolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery
• Subjects: head and neck; chronic disease
• Online Access: https://bjohns.in/journal/index.php/bjohns/article/view/524

Introduction   Head and neck lesions encompass a multitude of disorders which can be broadly classified into two groups: Benign and Malignant. Overall 57.5% of global head and neck cancers comes from Asia itself and India alone constitutes 30% of it. Therefore, it is of prime essence that need based and coordinated research for understanding the threats to the nation from chronic diseases such as head and neck cancers and ways to defy such threats should gain the utmost importance. The present study attempts to present the epidemiological profile of the patients attending a peripheral referral institute of this state with head-neck pathologies and has undergone a histopathological examination of their lesions within a period of three years period (2016-18) based on the histopathological evidences. Materials and Methods The accumulated data regarding the aforesaid patients as per records of the histopathological reports available in the Department of Pathology was used as the primary material and the interrelation of different epidemiological parameters were studied using the statistical methods Results Six hundred and eighty seven cases from the head and neck region were analysed during this three-year period. Age range was from 3 years to 96 years with maximum cases in the age group of 20-29 years (16.1%). The Male: Female ratio in our study was 1.34:1 (Males 394, Females 293). In this study, 38.8% benign, 32.46% malignant, 25.32% inflammatory and 3.3% congenital cases were recorded. Maximum number of benign lesions was in the age group of 10-39 years. Malignancies were noted to be higher in ages 40 years and above. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignancy observed. Conclusion  Specific data obtained like this from histopathological records is helpful in evaluating patterns of head and neck lesions and augment the base line data of institute and the region.