%0 Journal Article
%T Accuracy of ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration for small cervical lymph nodes: A retrospective review of 505 cases.
%A Fu Y
%A Liu C
%A Ren M
%A Du T
%A Wang Y
%A Mei F
%A Cui L
%J Heliyon
%V 10
%N 10
%D 2024 May 30
%M 38803905
%F 3.776
%R 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31238
%X <B>UNASSIGNED: </B>The overall diagnostic value of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is not as excellent as that of core needle biopsy (CNB). Limited research has investigated small cervical lymph nodes inaccessible to ultrasound-guided CNB due to technical challenges associated with their small size. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasound-guided FNA in determining the etiology of small cervical lymph nodes.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent FNA between May 2018 and May 2021 at our hospital. Cytological, histopathological, and clinical follow-up data were analyzed. The diagnostic yield of FNA was assessed based on sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy calculations.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>This study included 505 patients, each with a small cervical lymph node under evaluation (total number of lymph nodes: 505). The average maximal diameter of the lymph nodes was 14.6 ± 6.2 mm. According to the Sydney system, the cytology results were as follows: Category I in 26 lymph nodes (5.1 %); Category II in 269 (53.3 %); Category III in 35 (6.9 %); Category IV in 17 (3.4 %); and Category V in 158 (31.3 %). We identified 212 malignant cases (203 metastases and 9 lymphomas) and 293 benign lymph nodes. FNA achieved high sensitivity (88.8 %), specificity (99.6 %), PPV (99.4 %), NPV (91.8 %), and overall accuracy (94.8 %) in determining the etiology of small cervical lymph nodes.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>FNA cytology is suitable for small lesions inaccessible by CNB and provides a diagnostic basis for implementing clinically appropriate treatment measures.