Fine needle aspiration cytology accuracy in diagnosis of thyroid lesions: a comparative study with histopathological examination of thyroid swellings

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Thyroid enlargement, whether diffuse or in the form of a nodule, leads to a battery of investigations to be done. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is usually the first line of investigation but the limitations of cytology are well recognized in the diagnosis of some thyroid malignancies, in particular it is not able to differentiate between follicular adenoma and carcinoma. We conducted a prospective study to assess the role of FNAC in diagnosing the nature of thyroid swelling and comparing its result with histopathology finding.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> This was a prospective study conducted on 100 consecutive patients presented with thyroid swelling in department of otorhinolaryngology. </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The present data show high specificity (96.29%) of FNAC as compared to sensitivity, which came out to be (78.9%). Positive and negative predictive value is 93.75% and 95.23%. This is quite similar to previous studies.</p><p class="p1"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> FNAC has high specificity (96.29%), sensitivity (78.9%), positive predictive value (93.75%), negative predictive value (95.23%) and accuracy (95%) therefore it can be reliably used as initial investigation. A benign FNAC diagnosis should be viewed with caution as false negative results do occur and these patients should be followed up clinico-radiologically for any progression that will require repeated FNAC and/or surgery. </p>