The use of fine needle core biopsy under ultrasound guidance in the diagnosis of a parotid mass.
e aimed to evaluate data about the performance of ltrasound-guided core biopsy (USCB) in the diagnosis of arotid swellings and to supplement previous studies in this rea.1–3 Sixtyfive patients were enrolled in this prospective tudy in addition to our previously published series of 135 atients1 with follow-up periods ranging from a few months o nine years. The technique of initial diagnostic ultrasound nd characterisation of the lesion followed by guided core iopsy is identical to that previously described,1–3 using a pring-loaded automated and variable throw biopsy device nd a combination of 18 or 20G needles (mean of two asses/patient). In the previous series all core biopsies were considered ufficient for histological analysis and there were no false postive or false negative results. Of 200 patients in the updated eries,116 were operated on subsequently (Table 1) and 84 atients were not (Table 2). Two core biopsy specimens in he additional study group of 65 patients had nondiagnostic ore biopsy samples and there was also a single false negative esult. In the two patients in whom USCB was not diagnostic, oth lesions had prominent cystic/ necrotic internal compoents as shown on the initial diagnostic ultrasound scans. espite sampling of the solid elements, core biopsy samples ere inadequate for diagnosis. Ultrasound scans had sugested possible diagnoses of Warthin tumour in one case and alignancy in the other. The final histological examination