Thyroid gland fine needle aspiration cytology, a retrospective review in a tertiary hospital (original) (raw)

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is accepted as the gold standard diagnostic tool for the assessment of thyroid nodules. Our objectives were to determine the cytological pattern of thyroid lesions and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC of thyroid lesions performed in our hospital to compare it with data published in literature, and to stress on the importance of using standardized cytological reporting system for thyroid FNAC. Methods: This is a retrospective review, done in King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh. We reviewed records of 80 patients; all underwent FNAC and thyroid surgery, from January 2010 to December 2012. Information was extracted from files including age, sex, FNAC results and final histopathological diagnosis. FNAC results were grouped according to the Bethesda System for reporting thyroid cytopathology. Final histopathology was grouped as either benign or malignant. Results: A total of 81 FNACs of thyroid lesions were done during the study period. The results of the FNA cytological diagnosis showed that one (1.2%) of the patients had FNAC which was unsatisfactory, 48 (59%) patients had benign lesions, 12 (14.8 %) had follicular lesion of undetermined significance, six (7.4%) had results of a follicular neoplasm, two (2.4%) had results of suspicious for malignancy, and 12 (14.8%) had FNAC results showing malignancy. These FNAC findings, in relation to histopathological diagnosis, showed that our FNAC diagnostic accuracy rate was 95%, with a sensitivity of 80%, and specificity of 100%. Conclusion: The results of our study are comparable with data in literature and show that FNAC is a sensitive, specific and accurate initial diagnostic test for the preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid swellings. Also, the implementation of a standardized cytological reporting system will results in improved understanding of FNAC results, and subsequently, the management of nodular thyroid disease