ASPIRATION CYTOLOGY OF RIGHT HYPOCHONDRIAL MASSES: UTILITY AND DIAGNOSTIC EFFICACY

Anand Nidhi, Shukla Saumya, Singh Priya, Awasthi Namrata Punit, Husain Nuzhat and Gupta Anurag*

ABSTRACT

The accurate diagnosis of deep seated abdominal lesions always poses a diagnostic dilemma both for the treating surgeon and the pathologist. The objective of this retrospective case series was to analyse the pathological spectrum of right hypochondrial aspirates and to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of guided aspiration cytology for right hypochondrial lesions. This was a retrospective case series that included 105 cases of aspirations performed under radiological guidance from masses present in the right hypochondrium. The pathological analyses revealed that the aspirates were inadequate for evaluation in 24 cases (22.85%) cases. This was mainly attributed to excessive haemorrhage that obscured the morphology or cellular degeneration and debris. In 81 cases (77.27%), the smears had adequate material therefore could be evaluated on cytology. On cytological analysis, and morphology the lesions were categorised as inadequate in 22.85% (n=24), non neoplastic in 2.85% (n=3), negative for malignancy in 9.52% (n=10) and neoplastic in 64.76% (n=68). The overall diagnostic efficacy was 85.71 % with a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 100%. Cytology is a rapid, inexpensive and accurate tool for the diagnosis of right hypochondrial masses. Aspirations performed under guidance have high diagnostic accuracy that aid in rapid diagnosis and patient management.

Keywords: Aspiration, Cytology, Right Hyprchondrium, Diagnostic efficacy.