ABSTRACT
Background:Improvements in the sensitivity and specificity of biochemical thyroid tests; as well as the development of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) and improved cytological techniques; have dramatically impacted clinical strategies for detecting and treating thyroid disorders.Fine needle aspiration is a safe and relatively painless procedure where a hypodermic needle passed into the lump and samples of tissue taken out.This procedure will provide us with more information about the nature of the lump; and especially differentiate between a benign and malignant mass.Objectives: The current prospective study designed to evaluate the sensitivity; specificity andaccuracy of FNA. The study was performed in the regional major hospital; Khartoum; Sudan.Patients and methods: A thousand and three hundred thirty one patients who underwent thyroid surgery 'between' January 2004 to June 2007 were enrolled.Results: 247 (18.3) had single nodular goiter. The incidence of benign and malignant lesions in single nodular goiter were 204 (87.6) and 29 (12.4) respectively.The overall sensitivity; specificity and accuracy of FNA were 95.5; 99.5and 99.4respectively.Conclusion: Also there is correlation between the nodule size and the result of FNA; as the nodular size increase there is increase of the probability of malignant changes. So; solitary or dominant nodules 7 1cm in diameter might be evaluated by FNA