title: Fine-needle aspiration of six carotid body paragangliomas.
abstract: We report six carotid body paragangliomas diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in five patients. A total of eight aspirations were performed. The cytologic findings are characteristic: hemorrhagic background, hypo- to hypercellular smears (depending on the skill of the aspirator) with cells having delicate, ill-defined, vacuolated cytoplasm, pleomorphic nuclei with distinct nucleoli, rare intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions, and prominent rosette formation. No complications arose in any of the eight aspirations. FNA is a safe, accurate means of diagnosing carotid body paragangliomas. It can provide essential information for treatment planning and patient management.
authors.affiliation: George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20037.
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Fleming
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Oertel
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Fidler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002345:Carotid Body Tumor / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies