The resource implications of a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) Clinic at Northampton General Hospital have been evaluated over a 12 month period using a patient management questionnaire. A total of 490 cases from which fine needle aspirates were taken from superficial sites have been assessed (breast 381, thyroid 46, lymph node 44, salivary gland 9, soft tissue 10). Total resource savings (135,544 pounds) exceeded the expenses of the FNA clinic (27,290 pounds). Potential cost savings per case were the greatest for thyroid aspirates. The FNA clinic where the pathologist takes, stains and reports optimally prepared specimens, provides a high quality and accurate service on which clinicians can confidently base clinical management decisions. Unnecessary investigations and operations are avoided, allowing scant resources to be released for other procedures.
The results of the diagnostic accuracy of breast fine needle aspiration specimens taken by the pathologist in a joint surgical clinic are compared with those taken by a surgeon. In the joint clinic the complete sensitivity rose by 15% and the number of missed malignancies fell by half.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.