Correlation between fine needle aspiration and intraoperative frozen section findings for thyroid patients; a single center study

Abstract

Introduction: Thyroid nodules are one of the most common diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between fine needle aspiration (FNA) and intraoperative frozen section findings for thyroid disease patients. Patients and Methods: In this study, the FNA and intraoperative frozen section findings of 143 patients who were admitted to an educational hospital, Isfahan, Iran were collected and classified using these diagnostic methods during 2015. To find the correlation between FNA and intraoperative frozen section findings, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 16.0 (Chicago, IL). Results: Sensitivity and specificity of the positive FNA findings were 71% and 86.8%, respectively (P<0.001). The maximum concordance between FNA and intraoperative frozen section for papillary thyroid cancer was seen (P<0.001). Conclusion: In this study, a significant association between FNA and intraoperative frozen section of thyroid cancers, among our patients, however this finding requires further investigation by larger studies.