Abstract :
Objective: Fine needle aspiration cytology is the gold standard diagnostic test for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Purpose of the present study was to correlate the fine needle aspiration cytology findings with histopathology of excised specimens. Material and Methods: In a retrospective study 65 patients with solitary thyroid nodules were assessed. Preoperative FNAC findings and postoperative histopathology findings were analyzed. Patients with multinodular goitre excluded from the study. Results: A total of 65 patients with solitary thyroid nodule were identified: 21 (32.3%) were male and 44 (67.7%) were females. Age of the patients ranged from 17 to 68 years. Most common benign pathology was colloid goiter (44.6%). Commonest malignancy detected was papillary carcinoma (15.38%). Statistical analysis of thyroid lesions showed sensitivity, specificity and accuracy to be 70.97%, 100% and 86.15% respectively. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive rate and false negative rate of FNAC found to be 100%, 79.07%, 0% and 29.03% respectively Conclusions: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a simple, reliable, accurate and cost effective procedure for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. It is recommended as the first line investigation for the diagnosis of solitary thyroid nodule.
Keyword :
Thyroid; Solitary nodule; Cytology; Biopsy