Korean J Cytopathol.  1990 Jun;1(1):68-73.

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology in the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

• Lee DW
• Jin SY
• Koh ES
• Kwak CJ

Abstract

A total 48 cases of tuberculous lesion in the lymph nodes(43 cases), lung (3 cases) and soft tissue(2 cases), was subjected to fine needle aspiration cytology(FNAC). The age of the patients ranged from 19 to 77 year-old(average 33.6 years in age) and the male to female ratio was 1:4. Thirty-four cases (70.8%) demonstrated distinct granulomatous reaction with or without caseastion necrosis, nine cases(18.8%) showed no granulomas, but large amount of necrotic debris with numerous polymorphonuclear cells and histiocytes, and five cases (10.4%) revealed acellular material only. The overall AFB positivity in smears was 62.5%. In areas associated with granulomatous reaction and necrosis, AFB positivity was 55.8%, while it was 80.0% in cases with acellular necrotic material. There were 2 cases of parasitic infestation which could not be easilty differentiated from tuberculosis based on aspiration smears only.

Keyword

Fine needle aspiration cytology; Tuberculosis; AFB positivity

MeSH Terms

Biopsy, Fine-Needle*
Diagnosis*
Female
Granuloma
Histiocytes
Humans
Lung
Male
Necrosis
Tuberculosis*