Deepa Agnihotri, Ashutosh Agnihotri
BACKGROUND FNCC (Fine Needle Capillary Cytology) and FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology) are two fine established techniques, for cytodiagnosis in case of a thyroid nodule, which is a rich vascular organ. Comparative study is conducted to observe merits and demerits of these techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS 100 patients with thyroid lump (swelling) were examined clinically, to assess the overall size and consistency of lump. Cytological procedure is performed in supine position with neck extended. FNCC was done first, followed by FNAC in each case. 4-5 slides prepared for both modalities of cytological technique and were then stained appropriately. RESULTS Out of 100 patients, 91 were female and 9 were male. 58% of patients were in the age group of 21-40 yrs. Colloid goiter was the commonest lesion accounting for 52% of cases. Diagnostic adequacy of sample was found to be nearly same in both FNCC and FNAC techniques. FNCC was found to be diagnostically superior in case of malignant lesion. Cytological smears in case of FNAC was found to be more adequate but with a haemorrhagic background. CONCLUSION FNCC technique is safe, easy and patient friendly. Diagnostically both techniques show equivalent results. In case of highly vascular lesion it is advisable to perform FNCC to establish the cytodiagnosis.
