Computed tomography guided percutaneous transthoracic fine needle aspiration cytology of pulmonary mass lesions: Two years cross sectional study of 61 cases

Abstract

Background and Objective: A vast spectrum of pathological lesions like neoplastic, inflammatory, congenital and various miscellaneous lesions may present as lung masses. With computed tomography (CT) guidance it is possible to perform a biopsy on almost any portion of lung with high degree of safety and minimal morbidity avoiding more invasive techniques. The objective of present study was to evaluate the diagnostic utility of CT-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in pulmonary mass lesions and to compare with previous similar studies. Materials and Methods: Sixty-one patients presented with undiagnosed pulmonary mass lesions underwent CT-guided FNAC for a period of 18 months. The lesions were localized by CT scan and after the needle tip was confirmed to be in the desired location, aspirations were performed. Smears were fixed with 95% ethyl alcohol stained for Papanicolaou stain and air dried smears were routinely stained with giemsa. Cell blocks were prepared from aspirated materials. Data were analyzed using Epi Info™ version 7. Results: Out of 61 one cases, 56 (91.80%) cases were adequate for evaluation. Considering cell block diagnosis as the standard, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of CT-guided FNAC of pulmonary malignant lesions were 95.5%, 84.6%, 94.3%, 91.3% and 91.6% respectively (P < 0.0000096). The mean age of presentation was 65.75 years with male to female ratio of 1.44:1. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common malignant lesion (35.0%). Hemoptysis and transient pleuritic chest pain were some complications encountered. Conclusion: CT-guided FNAC is simple, safe and has a high sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy with only a few complications.