PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ahmed S. Bahaj AU - Haddad H. Alkaff AU - Bashair N. Melebari AU - Anwar N. Melebari AU - Suhail I. Sayed AU - Syeddah S. Mujtaba AU - Sherif K. Abdelmonim AU - Saeed A. Alghamdi AU - Fares E. Alghamdi AU - Omar A. Abu Suliman AU - Mohammad A. Alessa AU - Firas R. Abi Sheffah AU - Anas H. Al-Tammas AU - Rajab A. Al-Zahrani AU - Osama A. Marglani AU - John C. Heaphy AU - Osama A. Bawazir AU - Ameen Z. Alherabi TI - Role of fine-needle aspiration cytology in evaluating thyroid nodules AID - 10.15537/smj.2020.10.25417 DP - 2020 Oct 01 TA - Saudi Medical Journal PG - 1098--1103 VI - 41 IP - 10 4099 - http://smj.org.sa/content/41/10/1098.short 4100 - http://smj.org.sa/content/41/10/1098.full SO - Saudi Med J2020 Oct 01; 41 AB - Objectives: To evaluate the accuracy and efficacy of fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in diagnosing thyroid nodules, correlating it with the histopathological findings.Methods: A retrospective evaluation of 314 patients was undertaken at a tertiary referral center of King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC), Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between 2010-2019. Patients who presented with thyroid swellings underwent ultrasonography and FNAC. If indicated, surgery was performed. The FNAC findings were compared to the final histopathological reports.Results: The findings for FNAC from our data set of 314 patients showed a sensitivity value of 79.8%, specificity of 82.1%, accuracy of 74.8%, positive predictive value of 74.8%, and negative predictive value of 85.9%.Conclusion: Our study showed that FNAC has high sensitivity and specificity in the initial evaluation of patients with thyroid nodules. When guided by ultrasonography, the accuracy can be markedly improved. Molecular markers once widely available can improve the diagnostic power of FNAC to be no less than the histopathologic evaluation of thyroid tissue.