Cost effectiveness of a fine needle aspiration clinic. 1992

L A Brown, and S B Coghill
Department of Histopathology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.

The resource implications of a Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) Clinic at Northampton General Hospital have been evaluated over a 12 month period using a patient management questionnaire. A total of 490 cases from which fine needle aspirates were taken from superficial sites have been assessed (breast 381, thyroid 46, lymph node 44, salivary gland 9, soft tissue 10). Total resource savings (135,544 pounds) exceeded the expenses of the FNA clinic (27,290 pounds). Potential cost savings per case were the greatest for thyroid aspirates. The FNA clinic where the pathologist takes, stains and reports optimally prepared specimens, provides a high quality and accurate service on which clinicians can confidently base clinical management decisions. Unnecessary investigations and operations are avoided, allowing scant resources to be released for other procedures.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008198 Lymph Nodes They are oval or bean shaped bodies (1 - 30 mm in diameter) located along the lymphatic system. Lymph Node,Node, Lymph,Nodes, Lymph
D010337 Pathology Department, Hospital Hospital department which administers and provides pathology services. Hospital Pathology Department,Department, Hospital Pathology,Pathology Departments, Hospital,Departments, Hospital Pathology,Hospital Pathology Departments
D010338 Pathology, Clinical A subspecialty of pathology applied to the solution of clinical problems, especially the use of laboratory methods in clinical diagnosis. (Dorland, 28th ed.) Clinical Pathology
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D001940 Breast In humans, one of the paired regions in the anterior portion of the THORAX. The breasts consist of the MAMMARY GLANDS, the SKIN, the MUSCLES, the ADIPOSE TISSUE, and the CONNECTIVE TISSUES. Breasts
D003362 Cost-Benefit Analysis A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. In contrast a cost effectiveness in general compares cost with qualitative outcomes. Cost and Benefit,Cost-Benefit Data,Benefits and Costs,Cost Benefit,Cost Benefit Analysis,Cost-Utility Analysis,Costs and Benefits,Economic Evaluation,Marginal Analysis,Analyses, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Utility,Analysis, Marginal,Benefit and Cost,Cost Benefit Analyses,Cost Benefit Data,Cost Utility Analysis,Cost-Benefit Analyses,Cost-Utility Analyses,Data, Cost-Benefit,Economic Evaluations,Evaluation, Economic,Marginal Analyses
D003581 Cytodiagnosis Diagnosis of the type and, when feasible, the cause of a pathologic process by means of microscopic study of cells in an exudate or other form of body fluid. (Stedman, 26th ed) Cytodiagnoses
D004739 England A part of Great Britain within the United Kingdom.
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

Related Publications

L A Brown, and S B Coghill
April 1985, American journal of surgery,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
April 2010, Diagnostic cytopathology,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
January 1991, Cytopathology : official journal of the British Society for Clinical Cytology,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
January 1999, Canadian respiratory journal,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
April 1994, Revista clinica espanola,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
November 2018, Cancer cytopathology,
L A Brown, and S B Coghill
February 2023, Journal of vascular and interventional radiology : JVIR,
Copied contents to your clipboard!