Computed tomography-guided fine needle aspiration cytology of solitary pulmonary nodules suspected to be bronchogenic carcinoma: Experience of a general hospital

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) may be diagnostic in candidates with indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) suspicious of bronchogenic carcinoma. AIMS: The study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography (CT)-guided FNAC in our centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the cases had a strong clinical suspicion of lung cancer, negative bronchoscopy, negative sputum cytology for malignant cells and acid fast bacilli. A thorough radiological evaluation was made to rule out primary malignancy elsewhere. RESULTS: A total of 94 patients were studied in one year. May-Grünwald-Giemsa stain was used for the smears. The cytological diagnosis was correlated with clinical-radiological follow-up and biopsy to arrive at a final diagnosis. The procedure had a high sensitivity and specificity. Chi-square test was used to calculate statistical significance. Tumor of more than three centimeter and immediate cytological assessment significantly increased the yield. Review of slides added two cases of malignancy that were missed initially. There were very few complications. CONCLUSIONS: CT-guided FNAC was an accurate and safe procedure for SPNs.