No abstract

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is considered as the gold standard diagnostic test for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. It is a cost-effective procedure that provides specific diagnosis rapidly with minimal complications. It plays an important role in the determination of treatment- patients with suspected malignancy diagnosis can be subjected to surgery. On the other hand it can decrease the rate of unnecessary surgeries. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the correlation, accuracy of fine needle aspirational cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of thyroid lesions with the final histopathologic diagnosis in the surgical specimens. Materials and Methods: In our study we have performed a retrospective analysis of a case series of patients who were admitted to the Department of Endocrine, General and Oncological Surgery of Hospital of M. Kopernik in Łodź (Poland) between May 2016 and December 2017 and underwent FNAC with subsequent surgery. Cytological diagnosis was classified into six Bethesda categories. Results: On cytological examination 1070/1262 were reported as benign, 49 malignant and 143 suspicious. On histopathological examination, 956/1070 cases were confirmed as benign but there were 114 discordant cases. Among the other cases histopathology diagnosis of malignancy matched in 45/49 and 128/143 cases.The sensitivity and specificity were 60,28% and 98,05% respectively. False positive rate was 1.95% and false negative rate was 39.72%. The positive predictive value was 90.1% and negative predictive value was 89.35%. Accuracy of FNA in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid lesions was 89,46%. Conclusions: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a simple, cost-effective and popular procedure for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer. It is recommended as the first line investigation for the diagnosis of thyroid lessions.

PurposeThe aim was to find whether the presence of Hürthle cells (HC) in a smear influences the categorization of FNA results or the risk of malignancy (RoM) of particular categories of cytological diagnosis.Methods25,220 FNA performed in a single center in years 2005–2017 were analyzed. Almost all the examined patients were exposed to moderate iodine deficiency for most of their lives. The distribution of FNA outcome categories was compared between two groups: with or without HC (HC and non-HC). The RoM was evaluated on the basis of postoperative histopathological examination (3082 patients).ResultsHC were found in 7.5% of diagnostic FNA. HC nodules were classified into categories II (78.2% vs. 91.9%, p < 0.0000) and VI (0.4% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.0017) less often than non-HC nodules, but more frequently to categories III (14.4% vs. 5.8%, p < 0.0000), IV (11.2% vs. 0.9%, p < 0.0000) and V (1.5% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.0013). There were no significant differences in RoM between HC and non-HC nodules. The RoM in HC and non-HC nodules of particular categories of the Bethesda system was as follows: II: 1.8% vs. 0.8%, III: 9.7% vs. 3.8% when only the last FNA was considered and 10.8% vs. 6.4% when the category III in any performed FNA was considered; IV: 12.7% vs. 10.9%; V: 41.7% vs. 58.2%; and VI: 100% vs. 96.9%.ConclusionsHC nodules are classified into categories of equivocal cytological outcomes more often than nodules without HC. Nevertheless, the presence of HC in a smear does not significantly affect the RoM of FNA categories.

Reoperations of the thyroid gland are challenging to any surgeon. Such procedures are technically difficult and involve higher risk of complications than primary procedures. Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy is one of such complications The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) in preventing RLN palsy during recurrent goiter operations. Material and methods. We retrospectively analyzed the results of thyroid reoperation performed at the Department of Endocrine, General and Vascular Surgery of Medical University of Lodz in the period from January 2014 to June 2016. The study included 80 patients, who were divided into 2 groups: group A consisted of 27 patients, who had undergone surgery with the use of IONM, while group B included 53 patients, in whom RLN was identified visually. During statistical analysis we took into account the number of nerves at risk, not the number of patients. There were 47 nerves at risk In group A and 86 in group B. We analyzed whether application of IONM had any effect on the frequency of RLN palsy and procedure duration. Results. The frequency of RLN palsy was 10.64% (5/47) in group A and 15.12% (13/86) in group B (no statistical significance, p=0,47). Mean operation time was shorter in group B 71.29 ± 17.125 minutes vs. 75.75 ± 17.94 minutes in group A (no statistical significance, p=0,377). Conclusion. Use of IONM did not significantly reduce the occurrence of RLN palsy and procedure duration.