Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology Study Of Thyroid Lesions

Fine needle aspiration cytology has become an accepted and cost effective procedure for rapid diagnosis of thyroid lesions. This procedure was firmly established as an important test for the evaluation of thyroid disease and an effective test for the preoperative diagnosis thyroid nodule (Gharib et al., 1993). Objectives: 1) To study the cytological features in the thyroid lesions 2) To correlate the cytological and histopathological observation, wherever possible. Materials and Methods: During the prospective study, 110 fine needle aspiration of thyroid was performed during a period of two years in department of pathology, Navodaya Medical College, Raichur. Cytological diagnoses were classified diagnostically, and histological and cytological correlations were determined. Results: Out of the 110 patients studied, 100 cases were of non neoplastic thyroid lesions, 10 were neoplastic. Among non neoplastic lesions, nodular goitre (69%) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (19.09%) and between neoplastic follicular (5.45%) and papillary carcinoma (2.84%) were the most common. In histopathological examination of non neoplastic category out of 5 cases 1 were diagnosed as follicular adenomas which were diagnosed as nodular goitre by FNAC. In neoplastic category 4 showed follicular adenoma and 2 cases as nodular goitre out of 6 which was diagnosed as follicular neoplasm in FNAC. Papillary carcinoma (3 cases) and medullary carcinoma (1 case) were diagnosed same as FNAC results. Interpretation and Conclusion: By comparing the results of FNAC and histopathology, FNAC is considered as invaluable and minimally invasive, simple, cost effective, easily repeated procedure for thyroid lesions.