Introduction:

Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of the colon is characterized by the presence of >10 lymphoid nodules visible in colonoscopy. There are no studies that confirm their validity when compared with histopathology.

Objective:

To determine the validity of nodules detected at colonoscopy for the diagnosis of nodular lymphoid hyperplasia in children.

Materials and methods:

Prospective study of diagnostic test accuracy. Colonoscopies performed consecutively from 2014 to 2018 using Olympus PCFQ150AI and GIFXP150N biopsy machines were included. The endoscopic criterion was the presence of >10 nodules from 2 to 10mm of diameter, while the histological criterion was presence of follicular lymphoid hyperplasia and lymphocyte mantles in lamina propia or submucosa. Data were analyzed in Epidat3.1. Sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio (LR+) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-) were obtained with their corresponding confidence intervals.

Results:

327 colonoscopies were included; the median age was 84 months. The main indication for colonoscopy was lower gastrointestinal bleeding (38.8 %). Nodules were found in 21 % of the patients, predominantly throughout the whole colon (46 %), whereas histopathology found nodular lymphoid hyperplasia in 38 %. SE for the finding of nodules was 32 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 24-140), SP was 84 % (95 % CI: 79-89), PPV was 56% (95 % CI: 44-68), NPV was 67 % (95 % CI: 61-72), LR+ was 2.04 (95 % CI: 1.4-3) and LR- was 0.8 (95 % CI: 0.8-0.9).

Conclusions:

The validity of the presence of nodules on colonoscopy for the diagnosis of nodular lymphoid hyperplasia is poor, so biopsy should always be performed.

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