Thyroid needle aspiration in a community hospital

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is increasingly used for evaluating thyroid nodules.
• Concerns exist regarding the feasibility of performing FNA outside major medical centers.
• Nodular thyroid disease is a common clinical presentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy and safety of thyroid FNA in a community hospital setting.
• To evaluate the diagnostic yield of thyroid FNA in ambulatory patients.
• To compare community hospital FNA outcomes with those from university centers.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 400 consecutive thyroid FNA procedures.
• Performed in the ambulatory setting of a community hospital.
• Cytological analysis to determine benign, suspicious, or malignant findings.

Main Results:

• Benign cytology was observed in 80% of patients.
• Surgery was recommended for 12.8% of patients with suspicious or malignant cytology.
• Thyroid cancer was confirmed in 61% of surgically recommended cases.
• Non-diagnostic aspirates occurred in 7.2% of patients.
• Thyroid imaging did not enhance diagnostic evaluation.

Conclusions:

• Thyroid FNA is a safe and effective diagnostic procedure in a community hospital setting.
• FNA results in community hospitals are comparable to those from university centers.
• Thyroid FNA should be considered the initial diagnostic study for patients with nodular goiter.