Caspian J Intern Med 2017; 8(4):301-304 DOI: 10.22088/cjim.8.4.301 Original Article Sepideh Siadati (MD) 1 Seyed Mozafar Rabiee (MD) 2 Ebrahim Alijanpour (MD) 2 Mohammad Ali Bayani (MD) 3 Novin Nikbakhsh (MD) *1 1. Cancer Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. 2. Department. of Anesthesiology, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. 3. Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center, Health Reserch Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. * Correspondence: Novin Nikbakhsh, Cancer Research Center, Health Research Institute, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran. E-mail: novinsu@hotmail.com Tel: 0098 1132254392 Fax: 0098 1132254392 Received: 4 May 2016 Revised: 15 Oct 2016 Accepted: 3 June 2017 The diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration in comparison with frozen section in thyroid nodules: A 20-year study Abstract Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the most important method in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules before surgery. Recently, the efficiency of FNA in thyroid nodule management has been debatable. On the other hand, intraoperative frozen section (FS) has been used to confirm the diagnosis of FNA and select the proper surgical approach. In this regard, the present study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of FNA as compared to FS in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 69 patients with FNA and FS and histopathological examination from 1993 to 2014 in Babol, northern Iran. FNA was classified into 5 groups: benign (colloid goiter), lymphocytic thyroiditis, follicular lesions, suspicious and malignant, and FS was classified as after benign or malignant. The results of both methods were compared with each other. Results: This retrospective study was performed on 69 patients with FNA and FS and histopathological examination from 1993 to 2014 in Babol, northern Iran. FNA was classified into 5 groups: benign (colloid goiter), lymphocytic thyroiditis, follicular lesions, suspicious and malignant, and FS was classified as after benign or malignant. The results of both methods were compared with each other. Conclusion: FNA was considered as a simple, less invasive and cost effective method with fewer side effects for evaluation of thyroid nodules. Particulary it had a high sensitivity and specificity in experienced and skilled hands. Keywords: Frozen section, Cytology, Fine needle aspiration, Thyroid nodules. Citation: Siadati S, Rabiee SM, Alijanpour E, et al. The diagnostic value of fine needle aspiration in comparison with frozen section in thyroid nodules: A 20-year study. Caspian J Intern Med 2017; 8(4): 301-304. T hyroid nodules are one of the most common clinical problems and their prevalence was reported 5-10% in routine autopsy reports (1). In one study in Tehran, Iran, the prevalence of thyroid nodules was 3% and 8.3% in men and women, respectively (2). They were important in terms of probability of malignancy. Thyroid gland neoplasm represents the most common endocrine malignancy and 5-10% of the thyroid nodules are malignant (3). Regarding this matter, several measures have been taken to provide presurgery differentiation between benign and malignant nodules (4). The definite diagnosis of these nodules with the use of some diagnostic methods like sonography and radioisotope scanning could not be possible (5). Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the most cost effective and safest primary diagnostic method in presurgical assessment of thyroid nodules. One of the diagnostic problems of FNA is the undetermined significance and suspicious results obtained in 15-30% of cases (6). Most surgeons prefer intraoperative FS as a guide to determine the extension of surgery (7).