Comparison of diagnostic value of intraoperative cytology and frozen section in thyroid lesions

Diagnosis of thyroid lesions at the time of operation can help the physician in decision making to select appropriate treatment and to prevent total thyroidectoy and its complications. Using intraoperative cytology and frozen section prepare this opportunity. The main aim of this study is the assessment of the diagnostic value study of intra operative cytology (IOC) as an alternative to Frozen section (FS) in thyroid lesions. This is a cross-sectional study, conducted in 2000, on 126 thyroidectomy specimens in Alzahra hospital. 3 slides, one by frozen section, one by touch print after fixation, and another by paraffin section (PS) were prepared. FS and IOC results were compared with those of PS. Sensitivity and specificity of FS for neoplastic lesions were 79, 97%, and for nonneoplastic lesions 97% and 79%. The validity of FS for neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions was 77 percent. Sensitivity and specificity of IOC for neoplastic were 79, 91% and for nonneoplastic lesions 91 and 79%, and validity for neoplastic and nonneoplastic 71 and 73% respectively. FS and IOC have equal sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of neoplastic and nonneoplatic lesions and FS can be replaced by IOC.