Fine-needle aspiration of head and neck masses in children.
OBJECTIVE
Head and neck masses in children are common. Suspicious or persistent masses are referred to the otolaryngologist who is faced with the dilemma of deciding which ones require surgical excision. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in adults helps distinguish lesions requiring excision from those that do not. Few reports exist of its use in children


METHODS
Between January 1991 and December 1994, 67 FNAs were performed on children, 29 of which (43%) were for head and neck masses. Based on the FNA findings, 16 patients underwent surgery.


RESULTS
In 13 patients, the final pathology was consistent with the FNA findings: granulomatous diseases (3), branchial cysts (3), acute/chronic lymphadenitis (3), thyroglossal cyst, hemangioma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Castleman's disease (one each). There was one misdiagnosis, no false positives, and two nondiagnostic specimens. Based on the results of FNA, surgery was not performed in the remaining 10 patients. The cytology was: cervical lymphadenopathy (7), abscess formation (1), lymphangioma (1), and leukemia (1).


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that FNA in an extremely useful tool in the management of head and neck masses in children. It is very well-tolerated by children, and we did not encounter any complications.
Ramadan
H H
HH
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-9200, USA.
Wax
M K
MK
Boyd
C B
CB
D000293:Adolescent; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies