Spinal needles versus conventional needles for fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules-A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Spinal needles versus conventional needles for fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules-A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

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<h4>Objective</h4>Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is essential for evaluating thyroid nodules but often yields inadequate samples, leading to repeated procedures, increased discomfort, and higher costs. Previous non-randomized studies found promising results of spi...

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Main Authors: Kasper Daugaard Larsen, Gitte Bjørn Hvilsom, Tobias Vennervald Andersen, Preben Homøe, Finn Noe Bennedbæk, Jens Pedersen, Lena Bjergved Sigurd, Jens Jessen Warm, Katalin Kiss, Giedrius Lelkaitis, Luise Andersen, Marie Røsland Rosenørn, Laszlo Hegedüs, Annette Kjær Ersbøll, Anne Fog Lomholt, Mikkel Kaltoft, Christoffer Holst Hahn, Tobias Todsen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321043
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Summary:<h4>Objective</h4>Ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is essential for evaluating thyroid nodules but often yields inadequate samples, leading to repeated procedures, increased discomfort, and higher costs. Previous non-randomized studies found promising results of spinal needles to improve diagnostic adequacy. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter randomized controlled trial to validate these findings.<h4>Methods</h4>Between July 1st, 2021, and April 13th, 2023, patients with suspicious thyroid nodules were randomized to receive FNAB with either a 25G spinal needle or conventional needle. The primary outcome was the rate of adequate diagnostic cytology. Secondary outcomes included procedure-related pain, sensitivity and specificity of FNAB, and adverse events.<h4>Results</h4>A total of 359 patients (75.6% female), with a mean age of 59.7 years (range 23-94) were randomized. The rate of adequate diagnostic FNAB was 86.2% (156/181) for the spinal group compared to 84.8% (151/178) for the control group (OR 1.01; 95% CI: 0.95-1.08). The mean pain scale score was 4.0 (SD = 1.8) in the spinal group and 3.9 (SD = 2.0) in the control group (p = 0.40). No complications were observed in either group. We found a significantly better cytological adequacy rate of FNABs performed by physicians with more than four years of experience in the procedure (OR=1.07; 95% CI, 1.01-1.14).<h4>Conclusions</h4>No significant improvement was found using spinal needles with a stylet compared to conventional needles. Given the significantly higher cost of spinal needles and comparable diagnostic outcomes, their routine use for thyroid FNAB is not recommended.
ISSN:1932-6203

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