Comparative Study of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology and Histopathology Results of Salivary Gland Swelling in St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is a widely accepted, safe, and cost-effective diagnostic tool for evaluatingsalivary gland swellings. It helps differentiate between benign, inflammatory, and malignant lesions, aiding in surgical planningand management.Objective: This study aimed to compare FNAC results with histopathology findings to assess the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC inevaluating salivary gland swellings at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Methods: A four-year hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with salivary gland swellings whounderwent both FNAC and histopathology at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College from January 1, 2019, to August30, 2022. Data were collected using a standardized questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Sensitivity, specificity,Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated using histopathology as thegold standard.Results: Of the 475 FNACs performed, 110 cases had correlating histopathology results. The parotid gland was the most commonly affected site (46.4%), followed by the submandibular gland (42.7%) and minor salivary glands (10.9%). FNAC demonstrated high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy: 100%, 98.83%, and 99.09% for non-neoplastic lesions; 96.4%, 92.6%, and 94.5% for benign neoplasms; and 83.3%, 95.5%, and 94.54% for malignant neoplasms, respectively.Conclusion: FNAC is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tool for evaluating salivary gland swellings. It is reliable forpreoperative planning and can help avoid unnecessary surgical interventions.