A single ThinPrep slide may not be representative in all head and neck fine needle aspirate specimens.

OBJECTIVES

Ideally, head and neck aspiration should be performed by trained aspirators within the setting of a one-stop clinic, where smeared material is available for immediate assessment. However, this may not always be possible for practical reasons and the use of liquid-based techniques in head and neck cytology is increasing. Although liquid-based cytology has been extensively validated for use in gynaecological cytology, no studies have investigated whether or not a single ThinPrep slide is representative for head and neck aspirate specimens. We performed a prospective audit of head and neck fine needle aspiration specimens processed by the ThinPrep method to investigate whether a single ThinPrep slide was representative.

METHODS

A prospective audit of 115 consecutive head and neck aspirates was carried out. A single ThinPrep slide was prepared and a diagnosis recorded. The remainder of the specimen was then spun down and prepared as a cell block. The ThinPrep and cell block diagnoses were compared.

RESULTS

In 36 cases (31%), the cell block provided additional information that contributed to the diagnosis. In 14 (12%), the cell block was regarded as essential to the diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

A single ThinPrep slide may not provide representative diagnostic material in all head and neck aspirates. This should be taken into consideration when contemplating the use of liquid-based methods for non-gynaecological cytology.