Fine needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid: Pathological clinical concordance in patients of the Hospital of San José 1997-2000 Biopsia aspirativa con aguja fina de tiroides: Concordancia clínico patológica en pacientes del Hospital de San José 1997-2000

Abstract

A review was made of 510 cases of patients who underwent a fine needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules at the Hospital de San José, during the period from 1997 to the year 2000. The distribution by gender was: 442 women and 68 men, with an average age of 45.7 years. The punctures were performed by endocrinology, pathology, radiology services and, in a significant number of cases, it was not possible to determine which service performed the examination. Sensitivity for all diagnostic categories was greater than 80% and false negatives less than 20%. No statistically significant differences were observed between the different diagnostic categories, nor change in sensitivity according to the origin of the sample. The pathological clinical concordance did not show a group or a problematic diagnosis. There is a statistically significant difference between the samples sent from radiology and the other services, since they present a lower correlation, probably due to flaws in the handling and fixation of the material. The highest diagnostic frequency corresponded to benign thyroid diseases. No specificity, false positives, positive or negative predictive values ​​were found since all cases were positive in cytological diagnosis and in surgical resection / clinical control.