Cytomorphological spectrum of pediatric head and neck lesions-a comparative study in a tertiary teaching hospital in Western Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a well accepted as a diagnostic procedure in adult head and neck lesions. Its use in pediatric population is comparatively new. Only a few studies are available in archives of medical literature in pediatric population. Aims: The study the cytomorphological spectrum of head and neck lesions in pediatric age group. Histopathological correlation was done wherever possible. Material and methods: This was a hospital based, prospective type of study. Patients of age group between 0-12 years of age were included. Cases in two years between the time duration from January 2014 to December 2015 were evaluated for head and neck lesions on Cytopathology. Cytomorphological results were compared with other studies. Histopathological correlation was done wherever possible. Results: FNAC was performed on 1938 patients out of which 215 cases of 0-12 years of age group were included in this study. Cervical lymph nodes were most commonly affected (83.73%). Reactive lymphadenitis followed by granulomatous lymphadenitis was the most common pathology. Second most common site was skin and eyelid. Lesions of salivary glands, soft tissue and thyroid were also encountered. Histopathological correlation was possible in only 8.33% cases and concordant results were seen in 88.89% cases. Conclusions: FNAC plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of pediatric head and neck lesions. Preliminary diagnosis can be made and the spectrum of disease can be easily assessed. Histopathology was needed for confirmation of diagnosis in suspicious cases. Keywords: Fine needle aspiration cytology, Pediatric, Lesions, Cytology, Histopathology