PURPOSE

We aimed to determine the contribution of vacuum-assisted modified Menghini type needle to diagnosis of ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the thyroid evaluated by a pathologist at the bedside.

METHODS

A total of 147 thyroid nodules in 138 patients (122 women, 16 men) were included in this prospective study. Sonographic features of nodules, number of aspirations, pain and pain severity during the process, hemorrhage, and presence of sample obtained for cell block analysis were recorded and analyzed with the results of aspiration biopsy.

RESULTS

Using the 21G modified Menghini type needle, a diagnosis could not be reached in 14.3% of nodules. Adequate samples for cell block analysis were obtained in 47 nodules (32%), 17 of which contributed to the diagnosis. While the difference between diagnostic cytopathology results and the contribution of the cell block were statistically significant, obtainability of cell block samples was not significantly correlated with the number of aspirations or the presence of a cystic component in the nodule.

CONCLUSION

FNAB with 21G vacuum-assisted modified Menghini type needle is a safe procedure with very low complication rates. In addition to the cytologic smear samples, microtissue fragments obtained with this method help pathologists in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.