Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration of abdominal masses: Accuracy and short-term complications

Abstract Objective: To assess prospectively the sensitivity, specificity and short-term complications (24 h) of fine-needle ultrasound-guided punctures (FNA) of abdominal tumors. Methods: Fine-needle punctures were taken in 102 patients (188 needle passes) and after preparation the aspirate was examined by two experienced pathologists. Results: the sensitivity in detecting malignancy was 91.7% and the specificity 100%. The negative predictive value was 78.5%, the positive predictive value 100% and the overall accuracy 93.6%. We did not find an association between true positive or true negative results and the macroscopic appearance of the smear or the size of the punctured lesion. The minor complications rate was 3.9% (2.1% per needle pass), with no major complications. Conclusion: FNA of abdominal masses is a safe diagnostic procedure, with high specificity and sensitivity in detecting malignancies.