Ultrasound-guided aspiration cytology of enlarged lymph nodes.

Cytological results of US-guided fine needle aspiration biopsies of enlarged lymph nodes from 179 patients were analyzed retrospectively. The final diagnoses were benign lymphadenopathy in 90 cases, metastasis in 56, and malignant lymphoma in 33 cases. The material was sufficient for cytological analysis in 174 cases (97.2%). Correct diagnosis of malignant (C-IV-V) and benign (C-I-II) lymphadenopathy in the whole material was possible in 80 percent of cases. Correct subtyping of lymphoma was possible in 63.6 percent of the cases. There was one (0.6%) false positive (C IV), 6 (8.5%) false negative (C-I-II), and 24 (13.8%) suspicious (C III) cytological findings. All but one of the false negative cytological findings were from superficial lymph nodes. No complications occurred. US-guided lymph node aspiration biopsy is safe and accurate in the superficial, anterior mediastinal, abdominal, and retroperitoneal lymphonodal areas. Lymph nodes with a C 0 cytological result should undergo rebiopsy and suspicious (C III) or clinically doubtful cases should be referred for a surgical biopsy.

Ultrasound-guided aspiration cytology of renal expansions.

Ultrasound-guided fine needle aspirates from 52 malignant renal tumours and 128 benign expansions taken in 1982-1988 were analyzed retrospectively. There were three suspicious aspirates (class III) suggesting a possibility of malignancy among the cases of benign renal expansions and seven false negative aspirates (C I-II) among the malignancies. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the method for differentiating malignant cases from benign ones were 94.1%, 85.1% and 97.5% respectively. Cytology was correct in 86% of the radiologically equivocal cases and in 63.6% of the small renal neoplasms. Aspiration cytology identifies haemorrhagic cysts and infectious conditions, but is not reliable for the detection of malignancy in a multilocular cyst.