Panorama of solitary thyroid nodule

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration cytology is a diagnostic tool used in the clinical workup of solitary thyroid nodules, to triage them into operative and non-operative lesions, as they have higher incidence of malignancy. METHODS: Prospective study to find the utility of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in solitary thyroid nodules, conducted at JJM Medical College, Davangere from June 2005 to May 2007. Fine needle aspiration specimens from 162 patients with solitary thyroid nodule were analyzed. In 70 patients histopathological study was made and cytohistopathological correlation was done. RESULTS: Out of 162 cases, female sex was found predominant (87.65%) and mean age of the patients was 35.67 yrs. Sensitivity, specificity and efficacy of the study for malignancy were 40%, 100% and 95.71% respectively. CONCLUSION: Although FNAC is a good diagnostic tool for solitary thyroid nodules, ultrasound guided FNAC would have been better option for increasing accuracy of the diagnosis.