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Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules: assessment of the ideal number of punctures

2012; Colégio Brasileiro de Radiologia e Diagnóstico por Imagem; Volume: 45; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0100-39842012000300005

1678-7099

Sandro Ceratti, Paula Giannini, Ricardo Antenor de Souza e Souza, Orlando Fermozelli Rodrigues,

Salivary Gland Tumors Diagnosis and Treatment

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of punctures in fine-needle aspiration biopsies required for a safe cytological analysis of thyroid nodules. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study with focus on diagnosis. The study population included 94 patients. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 52 years (standard-deviation = 13.7) and 90.4% of them were women. Considering each puncture as an independent event, the first puncture has showed conclusive results in 78.7% of cases, the second, in 81.6%, and the third, in 71.8% of cases. With a view to the increasing chance of a conclusive diagnosis at each new puncture, two punctures have showed conclusive results in 89.5% of cases, and three punctures, in 90.6% of cases with at least one conclusive result. CONCLUSION: Two punctures in fine-needle aspiration biopsies of thyroid nodules have lead to diagnosis in 89.5% of cases in the study sample, suggesting that there is no need for multiple punctures to safely obtain the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.