The Assessment of Specificity & Sensitivity of FNAC in Thyroid Lesions in Erbil

Background and objective: Fine needle aspiration cytology is regarded as the gold standard investigation in diagnosis of thyroid swellings. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of Fine needle aspiration cytology in detection of thyroid swellings in our surgical unit and to assess the correlation between preoperative cytodiagnosis and postoperative histopathological diagnosis. Methods: Between years 2000-2003, 389 patients underwent thyroid operation by single consultant surgeon for thyroid lesions, 156 patients had preoperative Fine needle aspiration cytology; 6(3.84 %) patients had "unsatisfactory" samples so excluded from the study. the remaining 150 patients were enrolled in this study . Fine needle aspiration results were compared with definitive histological diagnosis following thyroid operation. Results: Fine needle aspiration cytology done for 156 patients,6 patients had been excluded, analysis revealed 132 (84.6%) non-neoplastic, 14(8.97%) neoplastic and 4 (2.56%) suspicious aspirates,. Of the 150 cases included in the study Histological analysis showed 130(86.66%) benign, 14(9.33%) malignant specimens, 2(1.3%) were false-negative. Fine needle aspiration cytology in this study had a sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rate of 90%, 100%, and 75% respectively for diagnosing thyroid malignancy. Conclusion: The results are comparable with the current published data and demonstrate that FNA cytology in our hands is accurate investigation for preoperative diagnosis for the detection of thyroid malignancy.