Interpretation of fine needle aspiration cytology for morphological variants of thyroid lesions in a tertiary health care centre

For evaluation of thyroid lesions FNAC is the gold standard among diagnostic tests as it prevents unwarranted surgeries. A retrospective study of 88 cases with thyroid swellings was conducted from July, 2015 to May, 2017 in the pathology department of Silchar Medical College and hospital, Silchar, Assam to determine the cytomorphology of the thyroid lesions and to correlate the cytological and histological diagnosis wherever possible. FNA analysis showed
colloid goitre to be the commonest lesion (52.3%). Follicular neoplasm comprised 3.4% of thyroid lesions whereas 3.4% was diagnosed cytomorphologically as papillary carcinoma. Histopathological correlation was done in the surgically treated cases wherever possible.
FNAC is easy to perform, cost effective and minimally invasive with few complications. It has high sensitivity in diagnosis of thyroid malignancy and also has high diagnostic accuracy in the evaluation of thyroid disorders.