Fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis and follow-up of thyroid nodules in childhood

Objective: To assess the role of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in the management of pediatric thyroid nodules. Methods: Results of 30 FNABs performed in our clinic were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical and surgical follow-up data were obtained from the patient files, and clinical correlation and accuracy of FNAB were evaluated. Results: The results of 30 FNABs were reported as benign in 24 (80%), insufficient in 4 (13.3%) patients, malignant in 1 (3.3%), and suspicious in 1 (3.3%) patient. One patient with a FNAB result of malignancy underwent surgery and the histological diagnosis was papillary carcinoma. FNAB was repeated in two of the insufficient biopsies, and reported as benign; in one of these patients, the thyroid nodule disappeared and in one, remained stable at clinical follow-up. Four of the patients with benign FNAB results underwent surgery at clinical follow-up because of an increase in the size of the nodules and one patient was found to have papillary carcinoma. The remaining patients were clinically followed. In this study, the malignancy prevalence was 6.6% in patients with thyroid nodules. There was only one falsenegative case. Conclusion: FNAB is a reliable diagnostic tool in the management of pediatric thyroid nodules. © Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology.