Evaluation of thyroid lesions by fine needle aspiration cytology: Our institutional experience

Thyroid gland lesions are common all over the world and India too. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an effective method for diagnosing clinically important thyroid disorders. The aim of our study is to explore the pattern of distribution of different thyroid lesions in our region and to demonstrate the effectiveness of FNAC as a simple and cost effective procedure for diagnosis of thyroid lesions. Fine needle aspiration cytology of 650 cases from the period of January 2017 to January 2019, presenting with palpable thyroid swelling were evaluated in our institution, out of which 547(84.15%) cases were females and the rest 103(15.85%) cases were males. Females outnumbered the males. 598(92%) cases were reported as benign and only 02% as malignant. Most of the thyroid lesions are non-neoplastic and are common in middle aged females. FNAC is a simple, economical and safe procedure which helps in differentiating neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions.