Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology in suspected lung cancer—an underused diagnostic tool

Abstract

Background

Lung carcinoma is one of the most common types of cancers in the world, and there are many investigative modalities for the confirmation, but the ultimate gold standard remains the histopathological examination, and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the mass is one method of confirming a suspected lung mass.

Patients and method

The patients included those attending the outpatient department/inpatient department (OPD/IPD) clinic of the Chest Diseases Hospital, Jammu, over the period April 2012–March 2015. Peripheral lung masses on CT and plain radiographs were evaluated using USG-guided FNAC by Voluson 730 Pro machine and patients were managed accordingly.

Results

Two hundred twenty-one patients were examined, out of which 180 had bronchogenic carcinoma, 9 had inconclusive results, and 32 had benign/ inflammatory masses.

Conclusion

USG-guided FNAC has a very high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis and management of the peripheral lung masses and is easily and cheaply available.

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