Evaluation of thyroid lesions by FNAC among youth and children: A hospital based observational study

Introduction: Thyroid lesions are rare in children and youth. Compared to adults, they show high malignancy rate. Peak incidence is between 20 to 24 years of age. Objectives: To evaluate the utility of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) of thyroid lesions in children and youth by “The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC)”. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted over a period of 18 months. FNAC was performed on 106 children and youth of 1 year to 24 years age and classified according to TBSRTC. Results: Median age was 18.9 years. Majority (57.5%) were females in 20 years to 24 years age group. Out of 106 patients, 4.7%, 85.8%, 4.7%, 1.9%, 0.9% and 2% were distributed among diagnostic categories I, II, III, IV, V and VI of TBSRTC respectively. Six (5.6%) patients underwent surgery and histopathological study was done. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rates were 100%, 97.8% and 98% respectively. Conclusion: TBSRTC for FNAC of thyroid is a definitive diagnostic test to triage patients on the requirement of surgery and to differentiate malignant from non-malignant lesions in children and youth.