Role of fine needle aspiration cytology of spleen.

To evaluate the role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of spleen in a tertiary care referral centre. FNAC of spleen was done in a total of 130 cases under ultrasonological guidance over a period of 5 years in a tertiary care centre. There were 76 male and 54 female including nine paediatric patients and the age range of the patients was from 2 to 70 years. All patients were evaluated for HIV, Hepatitis B antigen and coagulation profile before the procedure. Of 130 FNAC cases, 26 were inadequate, while 16 were normal splenic aspirate. A definite diagnostic opinion was possible in 88 cases. In this study, there were 13 cases of tuberculosis, 25 cases of granulomatous inflammation, 10 cases of acute suppurative inflammation, and one case each of leishmaniasis, aspergillosis and extramedullary hematopoiesis. In the neoplastic group, we had 26 cases of non-Hodgkins lymphoma, one case of Hodgkin lymphoma and 10 cases of metastatic malignancies. No complications were encountered during FNAC in any of the cases. With proper patient evaluation and emergency backup, USG guided fine needle aspiration cytology of spleen is a safe, easy and rapid procedure for definite diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic splenic pathology.