Comparison of aspiration vs non-aspiration techniques in fine-needle cytology of thyroid lesions

Aim: To compare the efficacy of fine-needle non-aspiration cytology (FNNAC) with that of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of thyroid lesions. Materials and Methods: FNAC and FNNAC techniques were studied in 50 cases of thyroid lesions. All the needle-sampling procedures were done by a single operator. The samples were assessed cytologically and evaluated using five parameters, that is, background blood or clot, amount of cellular material, degree of cellular degeneration, and degree of cellular trauma and retention of appropriate architecture. Statistical Analysis: Wilcoxon signed rank test was performed using SPSS14 software. Differences between all the individual parameters as observed in FNAC and FNNAC smears were insignificant. Results and Conclusion: After evaluation of FNAC and FNNAC on the basis of these scores, greater numbers of diagnostically superior samples were obtained by FNNAC; however, by FNAC more number of diagnostically adequate smears were observed. The numbers of unsuitable smears were also more by FNNAC technique.