Fine-needle aspiration cytology of abdominal masses.

An investigation of the role of blind fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the assessment of palpable abdominal masses was carried out on 196 patients: 124 hepatic, 30 retroperitoneal, and 42 other masses. All of the smears were stained either by Papanicolaou stain or by hematoxylin and eosin stain. The results of FNAC were confirmed by further investigations in all cases. FNAC correctly diagnosed 166 (84.6%) cases. Twenty (10.2%) reports were false negative, and 10 (5.1%) smears were unsatisfactory for any diagnosis. Of 124 hepatic masses, the correct diagnosis was obtained in 106 (85.4%), false-negative reports in 14 (11.2%), and unsatisfactory smears in 4 (3.2%). There were no false-positive reports. For all the lesions, the sensitivity of FNAC was 87.8%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value, 100%; and negative predictive value, 52.4%. Five (2.5%) patients had considerable pain after the procedure.