Endoscopic ultrasound guided aspiration cytology--a useful diagnostic tool.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic utility of endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of mediastinal and abdominal lesions. METHODS Endoscopic ultrasound guided aspiration cytology was carried out on a total of 155 cases during the study period. The lesions were categorized according to the site of needle biopsy. Clinical impression and provisional diagnoses were compared with the final cytological diagnoses and the percentage of inadequate/non diagnostic smears was calculated. RESULTS Out of 155 cases, 18 cases (11.5%) were reported as inadequate while a definite diagnosis was given in the remaining cases (88.5%). The mean patient age was 49 +/- 14.0 years. There were 105 (68%) males and 50 (32%) females. The most common site biopsied was mediastinal lymph nodes followed by pancreas. The most frequent diagnosis was adenocarcinoma mostly of pancreas followed by chronic granulomatous inflammation of mediastinal and abdominal lymph nodes. The average number of passes made was 3. The size of the lesions ranged from 0.6 cm to 25 cm with mean size of 3 cm as measured by endoscopic ultrasound probe. CONCLUSION Endoscopic ultrasound guided aspiration cytology is a useful procedure in the evaluation of deep seated lesions of gastrointestinal tract (GIT), abdominal cavity and mediastinum.