The role of operator experience in fine needle aspiration cytology of head and neck masses.

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was performed on 95 patients presenting with a mass in the head and neck region, where a subsequent surgical pathological diagnosis and adequate documentation were available. In this group, 70% of the samples were found to be of diagnostic yield. Of these, the number of true-positives was 27, and true-negatives 35. This gives a sensitivity and specificity of 90% and 97%, respectively. The accuracy was 100% when performed by a consultant and 91% when performed by junior staff. These sensitivity and specificity levels compare favourably with those reported in other studies using FNAC in head and neck lesions. Greater experience of the operator appears to improve the accuracy rate. FNAC is a useful diagnostic tool for head and neck tumours, as shown by the high specificity and sensitivity rates in this study.