A retrospective study during the period, of January 1, 2018, to January 31, 2020, was conducted after approval from the ethical committee of our institute. Slides were retrieved from the department of pathology. All patients having clinically palpable thyroid swellings, irrespective of their age and sex, were included in the study. Exclusion criteria were [1]. Patients not willing to FNAC of thyroid lesions even after explaining the purpose, utility, and consequences of the procedure, [2]. Lesions of the parathyroid, lymph nodes, and other surrounding structures. H and E-stained slides as well as cytological slides were evaluated and correlation was established.

Statistical analysis: A sample size of 50 was collected. SPSS Version 23.0 was used for data analysis. Frequency tables were constructed for each category in TBSRTC for comparison with the final histopathological reports. Chi square test was used to find the cyto-histo correlation. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were also assessed. P =0.05 was considered as significant.

A total of 50 patients were included in this study, of which 82% were females and 18% were males. The age of presentation ranged from 27 years to 66 years. Most of the patients were in the age range of 31-40 years accounting for 30% of the total cases. The youngest patient was 27years‑old. According to the Bethesda system of reporting thyroid lesions, the nondiagnostic category (Group 1) included 6 cases (12%), and histopathology was not available in any of the cases of this category. Out of 44 satisfactory samples, 66 %( n=33) cases were diagnosed as benign (Group 2), 1(2%) was in the category of suspicious for follicular neoplasm (group 4), 2(4%) were diagnosed as suspicious

Thyroid cancer accounts for 1% of all cancers and is responsible for 0.5 percent of cancer-related deaths. Because of the low malignant potential of thyroid nodules and the slow progression of thyroid gland cancers, early detection remains important for increased life expectancy. Martin and Ellis made the first cytological diagnosis of FNAC in the 1930s [5]. Many studies were conducted in the years that followed, but the method was widely used after 1952. The FNAC test is simple to use, has a low complication rate, a high diagnostic value, and is a cost-effective test for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules⁶.

FNAC is a safe, simple, and inexpensive technique that has emerged as a valuable and popular adjunct in the diagnosis and management of various thyroid lesions. In the present study, cytological features of thyroid lesions were studied according to the Bethesda system of reporting and correlated with histopathology, wherever available, to determine its diagnostic accuracy [6].

The present study reported 12 % of aspirates as nondiagnostic or unsatisfactory which correlates with the studies of Yassa et al [10]. and Nayar and Ivanovic [11]. Who reported 7% and 5% unsatisfactory smears in their studies, respectively, whereas Jo et al [12]. reported a much higher percentage (18.6%) of nondiagnostic/unsatisfactory smears in their study. Usually, an ultrasound-guided FNAC is performed for small nodules or nodules that appear heterogeneous on palpation and the cytopathologist himself performs the procedure of FNAC, thereby ensuring a lower percentage of cases in the unsatisfactory category as well as giving a better quality of adequate aspirate.

Results of various case series reported by previous authors showed the sensitivity of thyroid cytology ranged widely from 50% to 97%. In the present study, the sensitivity of thyroid cytology was 100%. On the other hand, the specificity of thyroid cytology ranged from 74.9% to 100% in