Comparison between fine-needle aspiration cytology and histopathology in leprosy: A cross-sectional study

Objectives: The objectives of the study were (1) to study the fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) features of skin lesions of leprosy, (2) to determine the agreement between FNAC and histopathology to classify leprosy into different groups of the spectrum, and (3) to determine the sensitivity and specificity of FNAC to classify leprosy into different groups of the spectrum against the gold standard of histopathology. Materials and Methods: All newly diagnosed cases of leprosy who attended the outpatient department of dermatology and venereology of a tertiary referral center during the 16 months study period were included in this cross-sectional study. Based on FNAC and histopathology, patients were classified into different groups of the spectrum. Agreement between FNAC and histopathology to classify leprosy was determined by Kappa statistics. Sensitivity and specificity of FNAC to classify leprosy were determined against the gold standard of histopathology. Results: All the 47 study participants had histopathology features of leprosy. FNAC could obtain adequate aspirate in 30 patients (63.8%), who were considered for further analysis. There was moderate agreement (76.6%) between classification of leprosy by FNAC and histopathology on Kappa statistics (Kappa value 0.766). FNAC showed 80–100% sensitivity and 84–100% specificity to classify leprosy against the gold standard of histopathology. Limitations: Small sample size. Conclusion: When adequate aspirate is obtained, FNAC could serve as a useful tool in classification of leprosy.