KUMJ | VOL. 6 | NO. 2 | ISSUE 22 | APRIL-JUNE, 2008

Role of FNAC in the diagnosis of salivary gland swellings
Akhter J, Hirachand S, Lakhey M

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and effi cacy of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) in various salivary gland swellings.
Materials and methods: This retrospective study was performed at Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital (KMCTH) from January 2004- December 2006. During this period a total of 978 FNAC’s were done out of which 40 FNAC’s were on salivary gland swellings. Correlation was done between cytological smear slides and biopsy slides.
Results: In this series of FNAC, 16 cases (40%) were benign neoplasms, 5 cases (12.5%) malignant neoplasms, nonneoplastic cysts 3 cases (7.5%) and infl ammatory lesions 16 cases (40%).Histopathology was available in 24 cases out of which 22 cases correlated with cytology.There were no false positive reports but false negative result was seen in 4 cases.Sensitivity and specifi city were 90% and 100% respectively.
Conclusion: FNAC is useful in the diagnosis of salivary gland swellings especially in benign conditions with a sensitivity of 90% and specifi city of 100%.