Review of a single institution's fine needle aspiration results for thyroid nodules: Initial observations and lessons for the future

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the disease spectrum of thyroid cytopathology and correlation of the Bethesda reporting system with final histopathology in our medical centre. METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted from histopathology reports from Galilee Medical Center between August 2013 and September 2017. RESULTS: A total of 287 thyroid fine needle aspirations were included in the study. The majority (55.1%) of these were benign (B2). Surgery was performed on 53 cases and the total malignancy rate was 39.6%. Our study had a favourable accuracy rate of 70%. A B4 Bethesda category had a higher malignancy rate (50%) than previously reported. CONCLUSION: We found a higher malignancy rate (50%) based on the Bethesda B4 category of the fine needle aspirations in our series, yet it is based on a small sample. The differences in malignancy rates between centres have an important impact on clinical decisions.