[Cytological diagnosis of thyroid nodules by fine needle aspiration. A study of 385 cases from primary care]

A retrospective study of fine needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules was carried out in patients from the primary level of care in our city during the last four years. Overall 385 aspirations were carried out in 361 patients (93.2% females and 6.8% males). From the overall number of evaluated FNA, 88.31% had cytological criteria of benign disease; the remaining 11.7% corresponded to neoplastic lesions. Histological confirmation was obtained for all the latter. The patients with benign cytology underwent clinical follow up and eventual cytological controls. In the 45 instances of neoplastic cytology there were 2 false positive diagnoses (4.4%). The technique was highly cost effective. FNA should be include in the follow up of thyroid nodules, and it should be available by request from primary care teams.