Abstract:

Objective: The purpose of this study is to asses the diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration biopsy and its role in deciding for surgery. Material and Method: Cytological results, obtained by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and the histopathological results of 87 patients with nodular thyroid disease who were operated on were reviewed and compared. The cytological results of FNAB were grouped as either malignant, suspicious of malignancy, benign or insufficient material. Histopathological results were grouped as either malignant or benign. The false negative, false positive, true negative and true positive results were calculated. Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were determined by using Galen and Gambino method. Results: Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of FNAB were %85,7, %94.5 and %93.75 respectively. The positive predictive value was %60 and negative predictive value was %98.5. The percentage of false negative results was %1.25 and false positive results was %5. Conclusion: FNAB has a high rate of accuracy in the preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules. It is a simple and cost-effective diagnostic tool. The rate of correct diagnosis could increase and the number of unnecessary thyroid operations could decrease further when the clinician and cytopathologist have more experience with FNAB.

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