The reliability of fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis of deep lesions of the lung and mediastinum: Experience with 250 cases using a modified technique

✍ Scribed by Geraldine P. Young; Irving Young; Daniel F. Cowan; Rebecca L. Blei

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 822 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 8755-1039
• DOI: 10.1002/dc.2840030102

✦ Synopsis

Two-hundred and fifty discrete lesions of the lung and mediastinurn were sampled by a modified fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) technique. Aspirates were collected directly into I5 ml of Saccornanno's fixative, and all preparative work was carried out in the cytopathology laboratory. Only seven aspirates were 'i'nsu@cient f o r diagnosis." giving a productivity rate of 97%. Five insuficient aspirates later proved to be neoplasms. Of the 243 cases with a primary FNAB diagnosis, 21 had insignificant disease, 29 had benign neoplasms or nonneoplastic disease, and I93 had malignant tumors. Most malignancies could be assigned to a specific histologic type by FNAB; those that proved difficult by F N A B were usually di&cult on histopathologic examination. There were no falsepositive diagnoses of malignancy and only eight false-negative results. Of 12 results interpreled as 'Suspicious." 10 proved to be malignant on follow-up. This modified method has proven to have a low complication rate and to be both highly productive and reliable in the diagnosis of malignant and nonmalignant disease.