Role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in head and neck lesions in coastal population at a tertiary care hospital – A study of 500 cases

Head and neck swellings are a very common presentation encountered by clinicians and patients across all age groups. Various lesions give rise to head and neck lumps. Swellings can arise from soft tissues, lymph nodes, thyroid gland, salivary glands etc. FNAC being minimally invasive, quick and inexpensive helps in differential diagnosis of head and neck masses.A retrospective study was conducted at Karwar institute of medical sciences Karwar from January 2018 to December 2021 in coastal population, to evaluate the role of FNAC in palpable head and neck masses and also to study their distribution and To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of FNAC in diagnosing Head and neck lesions and cyto-histopathological correlation (wherever possible). 500 patients with head and neck swelling underwent FNAC. FNAC diagnosis was correlated with detailed clinical history and investigations. Out of 500 fine needle aspiration procedures 35.6% (178) were of lymph node, 33.8% (169) were of thyroid, 9.6% from salivary gland (48), 17.8% (89) from skin and soft tissue swellings and 3.2% (16) inconclusive. The present study concluded that most of the swellings in head and neck region are benign and affect females more than males. Overall accuracy rate more than 90% and diagnostic accuracy in differentiating non-neoplastic lesions from neoplastic lesions is well established. Our study found that fine needle aspiration cytology to be an easy, safe, rapid, convenient, least invasive, accurate and relatively complication-free outpatient method for diagnosis of lesions of the head and neck