Table 2 Diagnostic performances of FNA and CNB to predict malignancy and to determine surgical indication.

From: Comparison Between Fine Needle Aspiration and Core Needle Biopsy for the Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodules: Effective Indications According to US Findings

 

Before matching

After matching

FNA

CNB

P Value

FNA

CNB

P Value

For malignancy prediction

Sensitivity

89.6 (82.5–94.5)

93.4 (84.1–98.2)

0.583

98.3 (88.9–99.8)

92.9 (39.9–99.6)

0.187

Specificity

98.7 (96.9–99.6)

100 (95.9–100)

0.589

49.2 (48.2–50.1)

50.0 (48.7–51.3)

0.083

PPV

95.4 (89.5–98.5)

100 (93.7–100)

0.165

95.3 (87.1–98.4)

100

> 0.999

NPV

96.9 (94.6–98.4)

95.7 (89.2–98.8)

0.526

98.9 (92.5–99.8)

95.6 (52.9–99.8)

0.212

Accuracy

96.5 (94.5–98.0)

97.3 (93.3–99.3)

0.796

78.8 (75.3–79.8)

74.8 (57.8–77.5)

0.178

For surgical indication

Sensitivity

77.8 (69.8–84.5)

89.7 (82.8–94.6)

0.011*

93.8 (84.5–97.6)

83.6 (51.4–96.1)

0.078

Specificity

98.8 (97.3–99.5)

54.9 (48.0–61.7)

<0.001*

96.6 (91.3–98.7)

96.5 (83.1–99.4)

0.970

PPV

94.6 (88.6–98.0)

52.2 (45.1–59.3)

<0.001*

93.7 (84.5–97.6)

93.3 (70.8–98.8)

0.925

NPV

94.1 (91.7–96.0)

90.7 (84.3–95.1)

0.166

96.6 (91.3–98.7)

91.0 (68.4–97.9)

0.083

Accuracy

94.2 (92.1–95.9)

67.3 (61.9–72.3)

<0.001*

79.9 (76.3–81.7)

76.5 (64.0–81.8)

0.078

  1. Note:— Values are percentages, and data in parentheses are 95% confidence intervals.
  2. PPV, positive predictive value; NPV, negative predictive value.
  3. *A P Value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
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