Fine needle aspiration cytology a reliable diagnostic tool in thyroid swellings

Abstract

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology can provide a reliable diagnosis in thyroid swellings and has become an investigation of choice due to its simplicity, specificity, accuracy, safety and cost-effectiveness. The objective of the study was to determine the reliability of FNAC in detecting various benign and malignant lesions of thyroid and correlate the results with histopathology, wherever available. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out at the Department of pathology, Dr. Hedgewar Arogya Sansthan Hospital, Delhi from June 2009 to September 2010. FNAC was performed on 118 patients of all age group and both sexes who presented with thyroid swellings. Results: Out of 118 patients, 105 were females and 13 were males. Majority of the cases were non-neoplastic (110 cases, 93.22%), whereas 8 cases (6.78%) were neoplastic. The most frequently encountered non-neoplastic lesion was the colloid goiter in 74 (62.71%) cases followed by thyroiditis in 29 (24.58%) cases. In the neoplastic group, the most common lesion was papillary carcinoma in 5 (4.24%) cases. The histopathological correlation was available in 26 cases (22.33%). The overall results showed a sensitivity of 87.50%, specificity of 94.44% and diagnostic accuracy of 92.31%. Conclusion: FNAC should be performed in all cases of thyroid swellings because of its high sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy for the benign as well as the malignant lesions of thyroid.