Fine needle aspiration cytology of solitary thyroid nodule: diagnostic accuracy and utility of cell block

The study included 61 patients aged 18-70 years, [13 males, and 48 females], having solitary thyroid nodule. After having clinical examination, each patient was subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology [FNAC] examination, and cell block preparation. For all cases, histopathological examination of the corresponding surgical samples, were also performed. FNAC preoperative diagnoses showed 25 cases with benign follicular nodules, 18 with follicular neoplasm, 1 Hurthle cell neoplasm, 4 suspicious for papillary thyroid carcinoma, 10 papillary thyroid carcinomas, 2 medullary carcinomas, and 1 anaplastic carcinoma. The number of true positive cases was 32, true negative 24, false positive 4, and one false negative result. Non-neoplastic to neoplastic lesions showed sensitivity 96.7%, specificity 85.7%, positive predictive value 88.8%, negative predictive value 96% and diagnostic accuracy 91.8%. The incidence of malignancy based on histopathologic diagnosis was 37.7%. Cell blocks were contributory in 35 cases [57.1%], and non-contributary in 26 cases [42.6%]. All cases of papillary carcinoma diagnosed by FNAC were proved to be papillary carcinoma on histopathological examination. In conclusion: FNAC is a simple, cost effective, and easy to perform procedure for the diagnosis of thyroid nodule. It is a highly sensitive with high accuracy rate, especially in diagnosing malignancy. Therefore, it is recommended as a first line investigation for the diagnosis of solitary thyroid nodule, to avoid unnecessary thyroidectomy

Observation on the regeneration of axonotmesis rat facial nerve exposed to low-intensity microwave radiation

The effect of low-intensity microwave radiation on the regeneration of an axonotmised facial nerve was studied in 40 male Wistar rats. A compression of 40 +/- 3 N was applied to the extramastoid portion of the nerve trunk for 10 min. After the release of compression, 20 animals were irradiated in the far field for 2 h per day at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and an incident power density of 18.2 +/- 1.4mW/cm2 [SAR 1.4 W/kg]. The remaining animals were sham-irradiated and used as controls. The effect of irradiation treatment was assessed by determining the time at which recovery started by morphometric analysis and by the restoration of motor function. Irradiated animals recovered earlier than control animals and possessed a greater number of Schwann cells after 4 and 8 days. There was a significant increase in the relative number of myelinated nerve fibers after 8, 12 and 16 days of treatment. The average thickness of myelin sheaths was significantly greater in irradiated animals at 12 days. The difference observed between treated and control animals in the morphologic parameters suggests that irradiation treatments have promoted recovery through enhancement of nerve regeneration