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Aetiology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

A wide range of antigenic stimuli are implicated:

Common causes include:

  • idiopathic - up to 55%
  • sarcoidosis - 30 to 40% of cases
  • infectious causes:
    • streptococcal/viral throat infections - most common
    • chlamydia - relatively common
    • tuberculosis - relatively common
    • mycoplasma
    • yersinosis - more common in non-UK European countries
    • rarely, histoplasmosis, leprosy, psittacosis, cat-scratch disease, lymphogranuloma venereum
  • inflammatory causes:
    • inflammatory bowel disease:
      • Crohn's
      • ulcerative colitis
    • rarely, Behcet's disease
  • drugs are a common cause:
    • sulphonamides
    • oral contraceptive pill
  • malignancy:
    • lymphoma, leukaemia
    • postradiation therapy
  • pregnancy

Rare cause include:

  • Infections
    • Viral – herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis B and C viruses, HIV
    • Bacterial - Campylobacter spp., rickettsiae, Salmonella spp., psittacosis
    • Parasitic - amoebiasis, giardiasis
  • malignancy:
    • lymphoma, leukaemia
    • postradiation therapy
  • often no cause is found (1)

 

Reference:


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