Diagnostic Accuracy of Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology in Cervical Lymphadenopathies at a Tertiary Care Center in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Introduction  Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has become widely used as a first-line diagnostic tool in the evaluation of cervical lymphadenopathies (LADs). However, there are conflicting reports regarding its accuracy in differentiating between malignant and benign pathologies. In this study...

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Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2024-06, Vol.16 (6), p.e62150
Main Authors: Qader, Kawthar, Qader, Maryam, Mubarak, Aalaa, Alaradi, Khadija
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Age groups
Biopsy
Cellular biology
Data analysis
Demographics
Electronic health records
Females
Gender
Hyperplasia
Inflammation
Lymphatic system
Lymphoma
Medical diagnosis
Medical records
Metastasis
Neck
Oncology
Otolaryngology
Pathology
Patients
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Summary:Introduction  Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has become widely used as a first-line diagnostic tool in the evaluation of cervical lymphadenopathies (LADs). However, there are conflicting reports regarding its accuracy in differentiating between malignant and benign pathologies. In this study, we aim to determine the reliability of FNAC in distinguishing between benign and malignant pathologies causing cervical LAD. Methods This is a cross-sectional study reviewing the electronic medical records of all patients who underwent both FNAC and excisional biopsy of cervical LADs between January 2016 and December 2023 at a tertiary care center in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A comparison was conducted between the cytopathological results obtained by FNAC and the histopathological results obtained by excisional biopsy to determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC. Results In the study period, 83 patient records were reviewed and included in the data analysis. Fine-needle aspiration cytology yielded a sensitivity of 89.3%, a specificity of 55.6%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 72.4%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 80.0%, and an overall accuracy of 74.7% in diagnosing cervical LADs. Conclusion Despite FNAC being accessible, convenient, and cost-effective, it has certain limitations that can restrict its accuracy in diagnosing lymphomas. We recommend further studies to research these limitations and the possible tools, such as ancillary testing, that may be useful in overcoming them.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.62150