Ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy of the pancreas: smear cytology versus microhistology

Percutaneous fine needle biopsy (FNB), under sonographic guidance, of local pancreatic lesions was studied by comparing the results of smear cytology (SC) with microhistology (MH) in 34 patients in whom both sampling procedures were carried out. MH suffered from a higher number of inadequate samples (retrieval rate: 94.1% SC, 85.3% MH), but reached a superior sensitivity rate as regard to the diagnosis of pancreatic malignancy (91.7% MH, 80.8% SC). Both samples obtained an absolute specificity rate (100%. A 96.3% sensitivity rate was obtained by combination of the two techniques in the absence of complications. Thus, the combined use of SC and MH in pancreatic fine needle biopsy was proven to be a safe and reliable procedure.