Fine Needle Aspirate (onsite)

Testing Laboratory

Department

Cytology

Delphic Registration Code (Alpha Code)

MW FNA

Test Code (Numeric Code)

9343

Laboratory Handling

Test Adds Requirement

Bookings are essential - phone APS Secretaries on (09) 639 0212

Sample Stability

NA

Synonyms

ASPIRATE (Fine needle aspiration)
FNA - ON-SITE COLLECTED SPECIMEN
NON GYNAECOLOGICAL CYTOLOGY - FNA
NON GYNAECOLOGICAL CYTOLOGY (Aspirate)

Turnaround Time

5 days

80% completion in 5 working days

Specimen Type

• Aspirate

Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

• Slide(s)

Paediatric Specimen Requirements

Tube/Container Type:

Preferred

• Slide(s)

Pre-testing Requirements

Patients MUST bring the request form given to them by their doctor to the appointment. The request form must be labelled with at least two patient identifiers (e.g., Full name, date of birth or NHI number), site of FNA and relevant clinical details.

Additional Specimen Information

Patients may drive themselves to and from the appointment and eat and drink as normal before the appointment.

Patients should wear comfortable clothing that allows easy access to the area of the lump for FNA.

Test Method

Fine Needle Aspirates performed onsite are without the aid of an X-ray or ultrasound. A Pathologist or Registrar will aspirate cellular material from the indicated site. These specimens are centrifuged and cellular material is transferred onto glass slides, fixed and stained for cytological examination under a microscope.
Surplus material may be made into a Cytology cellblock (plasma-thrombin clot) for ancillary studies e.g. flow cytometry; immunohistochemistry.

Limitations / Interference

FNA cytology is subject to sampling limitations, and diagnostic accuracy depends on lesion accessibility, operator technique, and adequacy of the specimen. Non-diagnostic or paucicellular samples may occur.
Cytology provides limited architectural information compared with histology, which may restrict definitive classification in some cases.
Reactive or degenerative changes may mimic malignancy, and prior treatment (e.g. chemotherapy or radiotherapy) may alter cellular features.
Blood contamination, poor smear preparation, and delays in fixation may also impact interpretation. In some cases, repeat FNA or tissue biopsy may be required for definitive diagnosis.

Uncertainty of Measurement

Uncertainty of measurement is not applicable to Fine Need Aspirates as this is a qualitative, interpretative test.

These are done Mondays-Thursdays by prior arrangement with the laboratory.
The procedure is carried out at Awanui Labs, 37-41 Carbine Road, Mt Wellington.
Bookings for procedures are made by phoning APS Histology Secretaries on (09) 639 0212

Please note that the duration of these procedures varies and may take around 20 minutes each on average.

Resources

• FNA Patient Information Sheet
• RCPA Manual
• APSMGMTCUSTIN012 Eligibility Requirements for Laboratory Referrals

Contact Information