Fine needle aspiration cytology as a preliminary diagnostic procedure for asymptomatic cervical lymphadenopathy.

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) was used as a preliminary diagnostic procedure in evaluating discrete, asymptomatic cervical lymphadenopathy of more than four weeks duration. Benign pathologies were encountered in 294/359 patients (82%); of these 86% had tuberculosis. Even in the elderly, a large number of patients (25/78) harboured tubercular lymph glands. FNAC obtained adequate material for cytologic diagnosis in 97.5% and had an overall accuracy rate of 97%. Malignancy was correctly diagnosed in 100%; in tuberculosis the accuracy rate of 96% with a 3.5% false negative results. FNAC is reliable as the initial evaluating procedure even in benign disorders; it is also cheap, speedy and easy to perform, with no complications, making it suitable for wider application in developing countries with scant resources.