A Study on Assessment of Diagnostic Yield of Cell Block, FNAC and Invasive Biopsy in Lung Mass with Effusion

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Accurate diagnosis of histological subtype is of paramount importance in case of lung malignancy as it leads to variation in treatment and assessment of prognosis. Hence the current study was done to establish the yields of different diagnostic techniques to perform tests in institutes with lesser equipment. METHODS: prospective observational study performed in 45 patients who presented with pleural effusions with an underlying lung parenchymal mass in department of respiratory medicine, GEMS&H, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh from August 2021 to August 2022 were included in the current study. RESULTS: During the period of 12 months that is from August 2021 to August 2022 we came across 60 lung mass cases among them 45 presented along with pleural effusion. In them Cell block results were suggestive of malignant effusion in 13 out of 45 cases giving a yield of about 29% whereas the yield of FNAC (fine needle aspiration cytology) was 53% (24/45) giving a combined yield of 82% from cytological study. Biopsy was conclusive in all the cases with a yield of 100%. CONCLUSION: The combined yield of cell block and FNAC is high even though in the current study the efficacy of cell block and FNAC is lower to that of biopsy. Core needle biopsy is preferable to traditional cytology procedures, according to the current study, but in locations without the necessary equipment or when a patient is unfit for the treatment, the first line of inquiry should always be pleural fluid cell block and FNAC