Objective: To compare the cytomorphology and histopathology of head and neck lesions to find out the diagnostic pitfalls and efficacy of Fine needle aspiration cytology.
Material and method: This is a retrospective study of 51 casesof head and neck lesions in 6 months duration who underwent FNAC in the department of pathology. The final histopathological diagnosis was considered as gold standard. Efficacy of FNAC was determined in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value( NPV), False positive rate(FPR), False negative rate (FNR) and total accuracy.
Results: For thyroid lesions sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value(PPV), negative predictive value( NPV), False positive rate(FPR), False negative rate(FNR) and total accuracy is 25%, 100% ,100% ,90.90%, 3.3% and 91.17% respectively. For Salivary gland lesions 40%, 66.6%, 66.7%, 40%, 33.3%, 60% and 50% respectively. In lymph node FNAC is 100% sensitive and specific.
Conclusion: Although FNAC is simple, reliable and highly sensitive and specific technique, it has its pitfalls in the diagnosis of diseases of head and neck lesions.
FNAC is a powerful screening tool and plays an important role in avoiding unnecessary surgeries, despite of its pitfalls.
To overcome the pitfalls adequate and extensive sampling is important.
Impact Factor
2022: 6.012
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