Abstract
BACKGROUND: Clinical cytology is being used nowadays worldwide. FNAC has gained recognition in the last decade as a valuable diagnostic technique. Its benefits have been demonstrated in large series of patients and in almost every tumor type. The reason for its gaining popularity is because of its simplicity, accuracy, immediate results, minimal patient discomfort and lack of complications. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study is to determine the diagnostic utility of fine needle aspiration cytology in cervical lymph nodes with assessment of its accuracy in relation to histopathological examination. MATERIALS & METHODS: All patients with cervical lymphadenopathy were subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Wherever possible, histopathology of the excised lymph node was carried out. Results of both were compared to evaluate the efficacy of FNAC. RESULTS: 280 cases of cervical lymphadenopathy were obtained. The best diagnostic accuracy on cyto-histological correlation was in cases of metastatic carcinoma (100%) followed by tuberculous lymphadenitis (76.7%) and reactive hyperplasia (75%). These results are similar to other studies. CONCLUSION: FNAC is an easy, simple, reliable and inexpensive method for diagnosing the nature of cervical lymph node swellings with a high degree of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. Overall aspiration of lymph node in our study shows high diagnostic accuracy with results comparable to the ones reported in literature by various authors.
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