A Cross-sectional Study of Cytological Grading of Lymphocytic Thyroiditis and its Association with Thyroid Hormone
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Abstract
Introduction: Following Goiter, Lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT) is one of the common thyroid lesions found on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). In addition to FNAC, clinical signs, thyroid profile, anti-thyroid antibody and ultrasonography (USG) can help in diagnosing the LT. This study analyzed thyroid Fine Needle aspirates for cytological features of lymphocytic thyroiditis, rated cases based on established criteria, and associated cytological categories to thyroid hormone levels.
Materials and Methods: A three-year retrospective study was undertaken at a Mumbai-based tertiary health care center's pathology department. Bhatia and colleagues used precise cytological criteria to assess 155 cases of lymphocytic thyroiditis described using the Bethesda method. Thyroid hormone status was associated with cytological grades where available.
Our research comprised 155 cases of lymphocytic thyroiditis reported through the Bethesda system. Further microscopic grading found that Grade II Lymphocytic thyroiditis affected most of the cases (114, 73.54%), followed by Grade I (31, 20%) and Grade III (10, 6.35%). The majority of patients in the 132 cases with available thyroid profiles were hypothyroid (68; 51.51%), followed by hyperthyroid (39; 29.54%) and euthyroid (25; 18.93%). There was no significant relationship between cytomorphological grading and hormonal state (p-value > 0.05). Additionally, no statistical significance was found between cytological grading and clinical characteristics.
Conclusion: FNAC is still the "gold standard" for diagnosing lymphocytic thyroiditis. However, in our study, there was neither a statistically significant relationship between cytological grades and ultrasonographic findings nor between cytological grading and hormonal status.
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