Repeat FNA Significantly Lowers Number of False Negative Results in Patients with Benign Nodular Thyroid Disease and Features of Chronic Thyroiditis

Table 2

Characteristics of the patients treated surgically and the incidence of malignancy revealed in postoperative histopathological examination in BL-CT and BL-nCT groups.

	BL-CT group	BL-nCT group	𝑃
Number of patients	218	2462
Mean age ± SD (years)	51.3 ± 11.6	51.9 ± 12.3	NS
Number/% males in group	9/4.1	259/10.5	𝑃<0.005
Mean thyroid volume ± SD (cm^3) assessed by US examination	32.4 ± 25.3	51.9 ± 31.0	𝑃<0.0001
Mean nodule volume ± SD (cm^3) assessed by US examination	5.5 ± 10.5	7.4 ± 12.5	𝑃<0.05
Number/% of patients operated without repeat FNA	130/59.6	1899/77.1	𝑃<0.0001
Number/% of patients operated after repeat FNA	88/40.4	563/22.9	𝑃<0.0001
Number/% of patients with indications for surgery in repeat FNA	19/8.7; SFN-10, SM-3, MN-6	51/2.1; SFN-26, SM-13, MN-12	𝑃<0.0001
Incidence of malignancy	%	%	𝑃
In patients operated without repeat FNA	10.8–14/130; (PTC-8, FTC-2, ML-3, SN-1)	3.2–60/1899; (PTC-55, FTC-3, MTC-1, SN-1)	𝑃<0.0001
In patients with BL in repeat FNA	1.6*–1/61; (PTC-1)	2.6–12/469; (PTC-12)	NS
In patients with cytological indications for surgery in repeat FNA	36.8–7/19; (PTC-6, MTC-1)	35.3–18/51; (PTC-13, FTC-2, MTC-3)	NS
In all the operated	10.1–22/218	3.7–90/2462	𝑃<0.0001

BL-CT: benign lesions with features of chronic thyroiditis, BL-nCT: benign lesion without features of chronic thyroiditis, SFN: suspicious for follicular neoplasm, SM: suspicious for malignancy, MN: malignant neoplasm, PTC: papillary carcinoma, MTC: medullary carcinoma, FTC: follicular carcinoma, ML: malignant lymphoma, SN: secondary neoplasm.
^∗𝑃<0.05 versus patients operated without control FNAB.