Computed tomography-guided fine-needle aspiration and concurrent core biopsy in diagnosis of intrathoracic mass: An evaluation of 54 cases in a tertiary care hospital

Introduction: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a simple, safe, and effective tool for cytological diagnosis of different neoplastic lesions. Computed tomography (CT)-guided core biopsy is also essential for tissue diagnosis. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic value and limitations of fine-needle aspiration and core biopsy in diagnosis of intrathoracic lesions; we have done this retrospective study. Materials and Methods: In all 54 cases with mean age of 57.37 years, CT-guided FNAC and core biopsy were performed on same sittings. 20–22 G Chiba needle was used for FNAC, and core biopsy was performed by 18–20 G coaxial automated cutting needle. The cytological and histological evaluations were done in our cytology and histopathology laboratory. Complications were managed by pulmonologists. Results: On the evaluation of FNAC smears, diagnosis was done in 44 cases and 10 cases were inconclusive. In core biopsy, five cases were inconclusive. Most of the tumors were of epithelial origin (43 cases, 87.75%) and 95.59% cases were malignant in our series. Sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of core biopsy (90.38% and 90.74, respectively) were higher than FNAC (84.62% and 85.18%, respectively). Conclusion: CT-guided core biopsy was more effective and accurate in diagnosis and tumor classification than FNAC in spite of higher complication rate.