International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | June 2023 | Vol 11 | Issue 6 Page 1900 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Rimi MI et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2023 Jun;11(6):1900-1907 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Original Research Article A 6-year retrospective study of fine needle aspiration cytology pattern of otorhinolaryngological cases of patients referred to national ear care centre Kaduna (2013-2018) Maryam Ibrahim Rimi 1 *, Yewale Iliyasu 2 , Abubakar Mustapha Yaro 3 , Isaac Agyigra 4 , Muhammad Kabir 4 INTRODUCTION Fine-needle aspiration (FNA), or fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), is a diagnostic procedure used to investigate lumps or masses. In this technique, a thin (23- 25 gauge), hollow needle is inserted into the mass for sampling of cells that, after being stained, will be examined under a microscope. There could be cytology exam of aspirate (cell specimen evaluation, FNAC) or histological (biopsy-tissue specimen evaluation but only 1 Medical Laboratory Science Department, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria 2 Department of Anatomic Pathology and Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria 3 Department of Clinical Services, National Ear Care Centre Kaduna, Nigeria 4 Medical Laboratory Service Department, National Ear Care Centre, Kaduna, Nigeria Received: 12 April 2023 Revised: 11 May 2023 Accepted: 12 May 2023 *Correspondence: Dr. Maryam Ibrahim Rimi, E-mail: maryambdw@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Background: This study was carried out to obtain the retrospective study of FNAC cases referred to NECC; and review occurrences of ortorhinolaryngological swellings and demographic studies of patients for a period of 6 years (2013-2018). Records of FNAC were obtained from the laboratory department’s unit’s register alongside the biodata of patients for demographic studies. Methods: FNAC samples were treated for diagnosis according to the unit’s standard operating procedure for cytology. A total of three hundred and fifty-three 353 cases were reported and tables were then plotted to present the study cases using simple descriptive statistics. Results: Highest age distribution was between thirty to thirty-nine (30-39) years with a total of ninety-five cases 95(26.9%) followed by the range of forty to forty-nine (40-49) years with a value of eighty 80(22.6%). Females had the highest frequency of one hundred and thirty-three 133 (62.3%) compared to their male patient counterpart with a value of two hundred and twenty 220 (37.6%). The site of sample collection had ANS with the highest value of eighty-one 81 (42.4%) compared to other sites. The year 2016 had the highest number of FNAC cases and finally ninety 6 cases 96 (27.2%) of cases were inflammatory, two hundred and thirty-two 232 (65.7%) were benign while twenty five 25 (7.1%) were malignant. Conclusions: In conclusion; FNAC plays a vital role in managing otorhinolaryngology conditions and gives a way forward for effective treatment to patients and often at times is therapeutic as some patients come with fluid field swelling that get relieved after the procedure. Keywords: Anterior neck swelling, Anterior neck mass, Fine needle aspiration, Fine needle aspiration cytology DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20231599