Fine-needle aspiration cytology in Ethiopia

Most of the population in Ethiopia lives below the poverty line with severely limited access to health care. The burden of infectious diseases is high, but benign and malignant neoplasms are also encountered frequently. For diagnosis of palpable lesions in this setting, fine-needle aspiration biopsy is the method of choice.

To present findings from several patients from 3 major hospitals in Ethiopia who underwent fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

Representative cytopathology cases of routinely encountered problems are shown. Often patients present with clinically advanced lesions. Staffing, technique, and equipment used for fine-needle aspiration biopsy are described at Black Lion Hospital (Addis Ababa), the University of Gonder Hospital (Gonder), and Ayder Referral Hospital of Mekelle University in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.

Fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a highly effective method for diagnosis of mass lesions, especially in an environment with sparse health care resources, such as Ethiopia. This article illustrates the work of Ethiopian cytopathologists and emphasizes the constraints under which they perform their work.