Application of liquid-based preparations in fine needle aspiration for identifying non-thyroid neck masses / 实用医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the value of liquid-based preparations versus conventional smears in the diagnosis of non-thyroid neck masses from fine needle aspiration. Methods The two different methods were compared by the smear quality and the diagnostic accuracy for the aspiration samples of non-thyroid neck masses of 400 patients. Results The unsatisfactory rate for LBP was lower than that for CS (13.0% vs. 16.0%, P < 0.05). The sensitivity was 94.6% for LBP and 92.9% for CS, and the accuracy was 96.8% for LBP and 95.0% for CS. In the aspect of smear quality, LBP had advantages of quantity of cells, with clear background and easily identifiable cell morphology. Conclusions LBP has more advantages than CS in the identification of non-thyroid neck masses, especially for cervical nodal enlargement. But it has no marked advantages in the diagnosis of salivary gland lesions.