Correlation of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology and Histopathology of the Neck Swellings Presenting at National Academy of Medical Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

IntroductionNeck masses are frequently found in clinical practice. A spectrum of pathological lesions ranging from inflammation to benign and highly malignant manifestation is observed. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of neck masses is a quick, easy, safe and cheap technique in the diagnosis which has been a well-accepted procedure in diagnosing various swellings. Histopathology is a gold standard technique in diagnosing any swelling which also provide detail architecture, however it also requires OT setings, more manpower, expensive, time consuming, more traumatic and can sometimes become difficult.ObjectiveThe objective of our study was to evaluate the frequencies of neck swellings and how efficacy FNAC is in diagnosing neck masses by correlating the gold standard histopathological examination.MethodologyA Hospital based descriptive cross sectional prospective study was conducted in 50 patients with neck swellings presenting in the surgery OPD and admitied patient for some other reasons. FNAC and histopathological examinations were done from those lesions and were compared. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rates were calculated. Data entry and analysis was performed using SPSS.ResultsA total of 50 patient were subjected to both FNAC and histopathology examination (HPE). Out of 50 cases, 25 were male and 25 were female. The age ranged from 16 to 82 years. Lymph nodes 22 (44%) was the most common case, followed by thyroid 17 (34%), salivary glands 10 (20%) and soft issue 1 (2%).Among all Tubercular lymphadenitis (18%) followed by papillary carcinoma of thyroid (14%),metastatic carcinoma of lymph node, NHL, and pleomorphic adenoma 10% each. The sensitivity of FNAC in diagnosing neck masses is 90.08%, specificity is of 98.53%, and diagnostic accuracy is of 87.64%.ConclusionFNAC is a simple, fast, inexpensive, and minimally invasive technique which can be used as the first line investigation in diagnosing neck swellings.Birat Journal of Health SciencesVol.2/No.1/Issue 2/ Jan - April 2017, page: 206-210

Study of fine needle aspiration cytology of palpable head and neck lesions in tertiary care centre

“…Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of neck masses is a quick, easy, safe and cheap technique in the diagnosis and has been a well accepted procedure in diagnosing various swellings. 1 Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a simple and a rapid diagnostic technique and it is now being considered as a valuable diagnostic aid because of the early availability of results, simplicity, minimal trauma and absence of complications such as in the thyroid, lymph nodes, major salivary glands and other neoplasm's. FNAC is of great value in the head and neck regions because of the multiplicity of accessible organs and heterogeneous pathologies encountered.…”

The spectrum of various palpable lesions in head and neck region in a tertiary care hospital-FNAC study

“…It also helps surgeons in anticipating the illness and differential diagnosis. Study of trends of illnesses is important in planning for healthcare delivery [5][6][7][8][9][10] . The clinical and pathological findings vary from place to place and also changes with time.…”