A study of correlation of fine-needle aspiration cytology with postoperative histopathological examination in patients with either solitary thyroid nodule or multiple nodules

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Abstract

Background
Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the thyroid gland is now a well-established, first-line diagnostic test for the evaluation of thyroid nodules with the main purpose of confirming benign lesions and thereby, reducing unnecessary surgery. Different imaging techniques are now used for diagnosis of thyroid nodules like radionucleotide scanning and ultrasonography. However, FNAC is still regarded as the single most accurate and cost-effective procedure, particularly if ultrasound is used as a guide for better sample collection, especially for cystic lesions.
Aim
The aim of the work is to evaluate the correlation of preoperative FNAC with postoperative histopathological examination in patients with either solitary thyroid nodule and multiple nodules.
Patients
and methods This prospective study was done between April 2016 and November 2017 on 100 patients presented to the General Surgical Department with either solitary or multiple thyroid nodule. This was done to assess the correlation between preoperative FNAC and postoperative histopathological examination.
Results
Statistical analysis of our study showed sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, false-positive fraction, false-negative fraction, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of FNAC to be 92, 81, 84, 36, 3.3, 63, and 96%, respectively.
Conclusion
The FNAC is a sensitive, specific, and accurate initial diagnostic test for the preoperative evaluation of patients with thyroid swellings in our setting as well. The correlation of cytological and histopathological diagnoses is an important quality assurance method, as it allows cytopathologists to calculate their false-positive and false-negative results.

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