Fine needle aspiration cytology of thyroid gland and histopathological correlation--revisited

Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid gland, followed by cytological studies and their correlation with histopathological diagnosis have been undertaken to assess the effectiveness of fine needle aspiration cytology in diagnosing disorders of this gland. The cases in which discrepancies had arisen between these two methods of diagnosis have also been reviewed. Out of the total 100 patients studied, 28 were cases of simple colloid goitre, 17 of adenomatoid goitre, 10 of autoimmune thyroiditis ranging from lymphocytic thyroiditis to Hashimoto's thyroiditis, 28 of follicular neoplasia, 10 of papillary carcinoma, one of medullary carcinoma, 2 of anaplastic carcinoma and 4 of cystic lesions of the thyroid gland. Although, fine needle aspiration cytology of the thyroid gland was diagnostic in 75% of cases, it did not correlate with the histopathological diagnosis in the remaining 25% of cases. Possible reasons behind these discrepancies have been discussed.