كارايي روش برش انجمادي در تشخيص ماهيت ندول هاي تيروييدي

Frozen Section Efficiency in Determination of Thyroid Nodules

Background: During thyroid operations, excised tissue studied via frozen section (FS) by a pathologist can differentiate benign lesions from malignant ones, and can help the surgeon during the procedure. In recent decades the role of frozen section in defining the nature of thyroid nodules has been declining, and being replaced by fine needle aspiration (FNA). The aim of this study was to assess the FS accuracy in patients undergoing thyroidectomy. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, 84 patients (67 females and 17 males) undergoing thyroidectomy over the past 5 years have been studied. The mean age was 36 years (ranged from 15 to 70 years). All patients had thyroid nodules and underwent thyroidectomy at our medical center. Frozen sections from tissue samples excised during operation were evaluated for all patients. Results: According to histopathological exam, there were 12 (14.3%) cases of thyroid cancer and 72(85.7%) cases of benign thyroid diseases. Incidence of malignancy was 29.4% in men and 10.4% in women. When compared to final pathology reports, frozen section reports were correct in 95.3%. There were two false negative and two false positive reports (each 4.7%). Sensitivity and specificity of this method were 83% and 98% respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 83% and 98% respectively. Conclusion: Frozen section is a reliable and valuable method for surgeons involved in thyroid surgery and may be preferred over FNA when experienced pathologists are not available or when preoperative FNAs are inconclusive or suspicious for malignancy.