Value of ultrasound guidance in cytopathologist-performed fine-needle aspirations of palpable lesions

Julie Dueber; Judy C Pang; Madelyn Lew; Xin Jing; Amer Heider; Robertson Davenport; Kurt D Bernacki; Scott Kantola; Michael H Roh

doi:10.1016/j.jasc.2014.12.002

Value of ultrasound guidance in cytopathologist-performed fine-needle aspirations of palpable lesions

J Am Soc Cytopathol. 2015 Jul-Aug;4(4):195-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jasc.2014.12.002. Epub 2015 Jan 30.

Authors

Julie Dueber¹, Judy C Pang¹, Madelyn Lew¹, Xin Jing¹, Amer Heider¹, Robertson Davenport¹, Kurt D Bernacki¹, Scott Kantola¹, Michael H Roh²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
² Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Electronic address: mikro@med.umich.edu.

PMID: 31051754
DOI: 10.1016/j.jasc.2014.12.002

Abstract

Introduction: Fine-needle aspirations (FNAs) of palpable masses are often performed by cytopathologists without ultrasound (US) guidance. Nonetheless, variations in the actual depth of palpable masses lead to occasional challenges. US guidance allows cytopathologists to visualize the mass and guide needle placement. This study retrospectively addressed the utility of US by comparing FNAs performed by cytopathologists on palpable masses with and without US guidance.

Materials and methods: Cytopathologist-performed FNAs with and without US guidance from March 1, 2013 to July 1, 2014 were identified. The number of passes, location of lesions, and interpretations were recorded. Available slides were reviewed to determine the proportion of passes that contained diagnostic cellular material and cases in which diagnostic material was present on the first needle pass.

Results: In this study, 134 palpation-guided FNAs and 118 US-guided FNAs were analyzed. The percentage of nondiagnostic cases was significantly lower for US-guided FNAs (2.5%) than for palpation-guided FNAs (12.7%; P = 0.004). The average number of needle passes was significantly lower for US-guided FNAs (2.9) than for palpation-guided FNAs (3.6; P = 0.0002). Twenty-two of 118 of US-guided FNAs (18.6%) and 6 of 134 palpation-guided FNAs (4.5%) were completed after only a single pass (P = 0.0008). The percentage of passes with diagnostic material was significantly higher for US-guided FNAs (73.6% versus 60%; P = 0.0002).

Conclusions: For palpable masses, US-guidance adds value to cytopathologists in obtaining diagnostic cellular material more often on the first pass and with fewer passes overall than by palpation alone. This has a potentially beneficial impact on patient care owing to the increased precision and accuracy of needle guidance with ultrasonography.

Keywords: Cytopathologist-performed; Cytopathology; Fine-needle aspiration; Needle guidance; Palpation; Ultrasound.