CellprepPlus(R) Liquid-based Smear in Sono-guided Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration: A Comparison of Conventional Method and CellprepPlus(R) Liquid-based Cytology

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) of the thyroid is a useful tool for the evaluation of benign or malignant thyroid nodules. The improvements in the quality of cytological preparations using the liquid-based cytology (LBC) method have been well-documented. The principal objective of this study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic adequacy, sensitivity, and specificity of the thyroid FNA comparing a conventional smear with the LBC adapted with the filtration method described herein. METHODS: One hundred ninety eight cases of FNA samples obtained from May 2009 to September 2009 were included in this study. All patients were subjected to ultrasound-guided aspiration twice at a target lesion by a radiologist and two types of slides were prepared using conventional smear and LBC. RESULTS: When compared with conventional method, the cellularity was reduced in LBC. However, the malignant tumor cells evidenced the larger and more vesicular nuclei, prominent nucleoli, and distinct nuclear membranes in LBC. Thirty two cases (16.16%) of conventional smear were inadequate, but 96 cases (48.49%) of LBC were inadequate. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the slides using CellprepPlus(R) LBC evidenced lower cellularity and clearer background. However, the conventional smears were found to generate much more applicable samples than CellprepPlus(R) LBC.