Copyright © 2022 The Author(s); Published by Society of Diabetic Nephropathy Prevention. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Correlation between fine needle aspiration and intraoperative frozen section findings for thyroid patients; a single center study J Prev Epidemiol. 2022;7(1):e04 Original Article Journal of Preventive Epidemiology Azar Baradaran ID , Maryam Derakhshan ID , Negin Ghanbari * ID Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Correspondence to: Negin Ghanbari, Email: ghanbari. negin21@gmail.com Received: 1 Aug. 2021 Accepted: 8 Oct. 2021 ePublished: 25 Oct. 2021 Keywords: Fine needle aspiration, Intraoperative frozen section, Thyroid Introduction: Thyroid nodules are one of the most common diseases. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between fine needle aspiration (FNA) and intraoperative frozen section findings for thyroid disease patients. Patients and Methods: In this study, the FNA and intraoperative frozen section findings of 143 patients who were admitted to an educational hospital, Isfahan, Iran were collected and classified using these diagnostic methods during 2015. To find the correlation between FNA and intraoperative frozen section findings, statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software version 16.0 (Chicago, IL). Results: Sensitivity and specificity of the positive FNA findings were 71% and 86.8%, respectively (P < 0.001). The maximum concordance between FNA and intraoperative frozen section for papillary thyroid cancer was seen (P < 0.001). Conclusion: In this study, a significant association between FNA and intraoperative frozen section of thyroid cancers, among our patients, however this finding requires further investigation by larger studies. Abstract Citation: Baradaran A, Derakhshan M, Ghanbari N. Correlation between fine needle aspiration and intraoperative frozen section findings for thyroid patients; a single center study. J Prev Epidemiol. 2022;7(1):e04. doi: 10.34172/ jpe.2022.04. jprevepi.com http Introduction Thyroid nodules are one of the most common diseases. In Iran, 9.5% of the adult population has a palpable thyroid nodule (1). This figure is equivalent to 1 to 2 cases per 400 000 population, which is 1% of cancers and 0.5% of cancer deaths (2). Thyroid nodules are solid or fluid-filled masses that form inside the thyroid and form a small gland at the base of the neck. Many of these nodules are asymptomatic (1); however some thyroid nodules may become so large that they put pressure on the trachea, causing breathing problems and difficulty swallowing (2). Methods for diagnosing thyroid nodules, in addition to accurate touch by a physician, include ultrasound, isotope scanning, fine needle aspiration (FNA) and more recently, Doppler ultrasound, and also examination of intraoperative frozen thyroid surgery specimens (3,4). FNA is widely used to diagnose thyroid malignancies (4). However, there is still no consensus on the diagnostic value of these samples, applications, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diagnosis in thyroid nodular lesions (4). As reported in some previous studies, only in suspected cases such as papillary, undifferentiated, and medullary cancers, FNA samples can be effective in confirming the lesion and determining the surgical technique (5). However, in the case of follicular lesions, Hurthle cell thyroid cancer and tuberculosis, thyroid FNA specimens do not help much and require a pathological evaluation for a more detailed examination (5). In this regard, in a study conducted on 42 patients with thyroid nodules, the results showed that the FNA method in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules is a more sensitive and specific method than the surgical sampling method (6). According to the results of this study, FNA has played a very important role in reducing additional and unnecessary surgeries (6). In another study by Iannuccilli et al, on thyroid nodules in terms of size, internal vascularity, echogenicity, and calcification, the need for FNA on all nodules with internal Key point In our study, the FNA and intraoperative frozen section findings of thyroid glands of 143 thyroid cancer patients were assessed. We found a significant association between FNA and intraoperative frozen section of thyroid cancers. 10.34172/jpe.2022.04 doi