title: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thyroid gland.
abstract: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a diagnostic procedure used routinely in the evaluation of patients referred with a thyroid swelling. The technique and the results in our series of 233 patients, which included 39 carcinomas, are presented. A relatively high diagnostic specificity of 81% was found, whereas the diagnostic sensitivity was considerably lower (58%). It is concluded that fine-needle aspiration biopsy is a valuable diagnostic procedure in the preoperative assessment of patients with thyroid swellings. A definitive treatment, however, must never be based entirely on the results of a fine-needle aspiration biopsy. It is concluded that the results can be improved if the procedure is performed by a few highly skilled clinicians and pathologists.
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000473:pathology*; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D003560:Cysts / Q000473:pathology; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006801:Humans; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*