Abstract
Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a unique
first line of investigation for triaging patients with thyroid nodules.
It is a simple economical and minimally invasive procedure
reducing the rate of unnecessary surgery for patients with benign
nodules. Objective: The aim of this prospective study was to assess
the efficacy of The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytology
(TBSRTC) in accurate prediction of thyroid lesions on fine needle
aspiration (FNA). Study design: In this prospective study of 110
FNAC of thyroid nodules referred to the Department of Pathology
at Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumkur and histopathological
report was correlated wherever it was available. Results: Of the
110 cases, 0.9% was nondiagnostic, 83.6% were benign, 0.9% were
atypical follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AFLUS),
3.6% were suspicious for follicular neoplasm (SFN), 3.6% were
suspicious for malignancy, 7.2% were malignant. Conclusion: The
Bethesda system of Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC)
undoubtedly represents a major step towards standardization,
reproducibility and ultimately improves clinical significance,
usefulness and predictive value of thyroid FNAC.
Keywords: Thyroid nodule; Fine needle aspiration cytology; The
Bethesda system of reporting thyroid cytopathology.