FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION OF SUBACUTE GRANULOMATOUS THYROIDITIS (DE QUERVAINS THYROIDITIS) - A CLINICO-CYTOLOGIC REVIEW OF 36 CASES

Although subacute granulomatous thyroiditis (SGT) is usually diagnosed clinically, there are other thyroid conditions that must be ruled out . This task is achieved by means of fine-needle aspiration (FNA). In r etrospect, the clinical and cytologic findings seen in 36 SGT cases ar e reassessed with a view to deciding which findings are most reliable for reaching a confident cytologic diagnosis. These are: the simultane ous presence in the same aspirate of the following cells: 1) follicula r cells with intravacuolar granules and/or plump transformed follicula r cells; 2) epithelioid granulomas; 3) multinucleated giant cells; 4) an acute and chronic inflammatory dirty background; 5) the absence of the following cells: fire-flare cells, hypertrophic follicular cells, oncocytic cells, and transformed lymphocytes. The absence of one or mo re of these requirements does not exclude SGT but does increase the nu mber of thyroid conditions that come into the differential diagnosis. In these cases, it is essential to review clinical data carefully and to submit the patient to a close clinical and FNA follow-up. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.