YIELD OF ULTRASOUND GUIDED FINE NEEDLE ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the yield of ultrasound guided FNAC and to identify the areas of improvement. MATERIALS and METHODS: The study was conducted at the Radiology department Aga khan University. Study required review of medical records, was conducted from Nov. 2006 to Jan. 2007. All patients underwent fine needle aspiration cytology of different organs like thyroid, breast, liver etc. A data was analyzed to evaluate the yield and the areas of improvement for ultrasound guided FNAC. Histopathological results were reviewed and percentage of positive samples was calculated. Areas of improvement were identified. The steps were taken to improve upon the weak areas and the yield. The second prospective study was from Feb. 2007 to May 2007 conducted to determine change. The patients in this phase were selected independent of the first phase. RESULT: In the first phase, initially records of 55 patients qualified to be included in the study retrospectively; however final study included 48 patients as records of seven patients were incomplete. The positive yield of ultrasound guided FNAC in the first phase was 89%. In the second phase, a prospective study was conducted on 61 patients. After implementation of identified changes, the positive yield increased to 100% in the second phase. CONCLUSION: The audit shows that the yield of ultrasound guided FNAC can be improved significantly by implementing identified changes in the system, thus reducing cost, time and anxiety of patient as well as Radiologist who did the procedure.

KEY WORDS: Ultrasound, FNAC