Comparison of Cytological and Histopathological Findings in Thyroid Lesions at a Tertiary Care Institute

Abstract

AbstractFine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an invaluable tool in the management of thyroidlesions with a high degree of accuracy. With the main goal of verifying benign lesions andpreventing unnecessary surgery, FNAC of the thyroid gland is currently a well-established,first-line diagnostic technique for the examination of diffuse thyroid lesions as well as ofthyroid nodules. The objective of the study was to compare the findings of cytological andhistopathological features of thyroid lesions.Materials and methods: The present study was carried out in the Department of Pathology,Pacific Institute of Medical Sciences over a period of 18 months from April 2021 toSeptember 2022. A total of 100 patients with thyroid lesions were studied by FNAC andresults were compared with histopathology wherever possible.Results: Majority of cases (29%) in the present study were in middle age group (31- 40years) followed by 23% cases seen in (51-60 years) age group. Male female ratio was 1:8.09.We found that the most common benign diagnosis seen by cytology was colloid goitre (53%)and malignant was papillary carcinoma (10%). Histopathology showed same diagnosis in 85out of 100 as diagnosis by cytology. For malignant lesions, both sensitivity and specificitywere 100.00%. For benign lesions sensitivity ranged from 78.57% to 93.48% for variouslesions, while specificity ranged from 81.48% to 100%. For malignant lesions both PPV andNPV were 100%. For benign lesions PPV ranged from 81.13% to 100% while NPV rangedfrom 92.21%to 93.62%.Conclusion: The Bethesda system review of thyroid FNAs for reporting provided accuratecytological diagnosis. In reporting thyroid cytology, it represents uniformity and consistencywith increased clinical importance and higher predictive value. The utility of the diagnostictest depends on the nature of the disease, experience and knowledge of cytopathologist