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Thyroid fine‐needle aspiration biopsy in children and adolescents: Experience with 218 aspirates
Author(s) -
Amrikachi Mojghan,
Ponder T. Brent,
Wheeler Thomas M.,
Smith Debora,
Ramzy Ibrahim
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/dc.20197
Subject(s) - medicine , thyroid nodules , fine needle aspiration , thyroid , malignancy , biopsy , medical diagnosis , cytology , radiology , thyroid disease , population , pathology , environmental health
Abstract To evaluate the role of fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of thyroid nodules in pediatric and adolescent patients, the cytology reports of 218 thyroid FNA biopsies performed on children and adolescents ranging from10 to 21 yr of age were reviewed. The cytology diagnoses were categorized into four groups: unsatisfactory, benign, suspicious, and malignant. One hundred nineteen (54%) of the aspirates were diagnosed as “benign,” 20 (9%) were diagnosed as suspicious for malignancy; and 17 (8%) were diagnosed as malignant. Sixty‐two (28%) of the aspirates were read as unsatisfactory for interpretation. Sensitivity of thyroid FNA in diagnosing thyroid malignancy relative to final histological diagnoses was 100%, and specificity was 65%. FNA of thyroid nodules in the pediatric and adolescent population is comparably as sensitive and specific as in the adult population. The acceptance of this procedure in the routine evaluation of young patients' thyroid nodules should reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries for benign thyroid disease. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2005;32:189–192. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.