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Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a cost-effective and time saving diagnostic test used to specifically distinguish between benign and malignant lesions by histocytology. The aim of this study was to study the spectrum of thyroid lesions and to correlate the FNAC findings with histopathology of excised specimens. Materials and Methods: A total of 300 patients with thyroid swelling were included in this study who had FNAC during 3 years study period, from July 2011 to July 2013, at a tertiary care hospital. All patients with thyroid swelling were assessed by medical history, clinical examination, biochemical tests and radiological investigations. The FNAC diagnoses were correlated with clinical features, radiological investigations, hormonal findings and subsequent histological examination of the thyroid specimens. Results: Out of 300 patients, females outnumbered males in thyroid diseases and revealed preponderance toward younger population (21-40 years). Nodular colloid goiter was the most common cause of thyroid swelling presented during 1 month to 1-year period. There were 104 patients (34.7%) who had surgical intervention and 86 (28.7%) patients reported for follow-up and had thyroid function tests done. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity for malignancy were 94.2%, 50% and 100% respectively in our study. Conclusion: FNAC is a reliable, safe and accurate method as an initial simple diagnostic test for thyroid nodules in decision making about surgical intervention. Our study suggested that FNAC has higher specificity than sensitivity in detecting thyroid malignancy; hence its use as a reliable diagnostic tool for evaluation of thyroid swelling cannot be overemphasized.
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