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Background:Breast lumps constitute a significant proportion of surgical cases in women of both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study is to look the frequency distribution of various breast lesions on fine needle aspiration (FNA).Materials and Methods:The 902 patients who presented with palpable breast lump, irrespective of age and sex were included in the study. Frequency distribution of various breast lesions with respect to age and sex was studied. Cytology grading in breast carcinoma was correlated in 69 cases with histology grading.Results:The majority (N = 871) of patients were females with maximum (N = 566) patients between second and third decade. The 773 patients had benign breast lesions and maximum (N = 341) patients were in the second decade. Fibroadenoma was the commonest benign lesion followed by fibrocystic change and mastitis. Out of 119 malignant breast lesions, 31.93% [N = 38] were between 41-50 years of age, 28.57% [N = 34] in 51-60 years and 22.68% [N = 27] in between 31-40 years of age. Out of 119 malignant breast lumps and majority were infiltrating ductal carcinoma (N = 108). Cytology grading correlated maximum with histology grade in Grade I followed by Grade II and Grade III.Conclusion:With experienced hands, FNA is safe, cost effective and a reliable technique for preoperative evaluation of palpable breast lumps. FNA features are more informative when combined with physical and radiology findings (Triple test). Fibroadenoma, fibrocystic change and mastitis form the major bulk of benign breast lesions. Epithelioid cells when seen in inflammatory breast FNA smears, tuberculosis must be ruled out. In India, breast carcinoma arises in younger patients as compared to western countries. Grading of breast carcinomas must be done on FNA smears for selecting neoadjuvent therapy. Clinical breast examination and mammography screening in females should be encouraged in developing countries from the third decade onwards for early detection of breast carcinoma.

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Background: Skin adnexal tumours are a category of rare tumours. They usually present as painless nodules and papules. The diagnosis of these tumours poses a challenge, because there is usually a discrepancy in clinical and histopathological diagnosis. Aims: To study the skin biopsies received in our department and compare their clinical and histopathological diagnosis. Material and methods: Prospective study of skin biopsies received in our department over a period of 1 year. The biopsies were processed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin and studied under the light microscope. Results: Out of the 26 cases studied, 25 were found to be benign tumours with a single case of keratoacanthoma. The most common tumour encountered was pilomatricoma and the least common was syringoma. Only four cases showed clinical correlation with histopathological diagnosis. Conclusion: It can be therefore concluded that skin adnexal tumours are rare tumours which need histopathological examination for their accurate diagnosis.

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Disseminated cryptococcal infection is an uncommon initial manifestation in immunocompromised patients. We report a rare case of a 40-year-old female presenting with fever and burning epigastrium. Peripheral blood film revealed a leukoerythroblastic picture with thrombocytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration showed granulomas along with cryptococcal yeast forms. The ELISA test for detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen was positive. Disseminated cryptococcosis can develop as the first manifestation of HIV infection in previously healthy individuals and granulomas in such bone marrow aspiration smears are a valuable clue to an underlying opportunistic infection.

Introduction:In a developing country like India, tuberculous lymphadenitis is one of the most common presentations at OPDs. However, anti-tubercular treatment cannot be administered only on clinical suspicion. Cytomorphology with acid fast staining proves to be a valuable tool in diagnosing these cases along with culture. The study was undertaken to study the utility, limitations of fine needle aspiration cytology and various cytomorphological presentations in reference to Ziehl-Neelsen staining in tuberculous lymphadenitis and correlate the culture findings. Methods: The study was conducted for duration of two years with total of 170 cases at a tertiary care centre. The patients with clinically suspected lymphadenopathy were selected. Results: The incidence of tuberculous lymphadenitis was 68.8%. Overall AFB positivity was 64.1%. Epithelioid cell granulomas with lymphocytes were the most common cytological picture and cases showing necrosis had highest AFB positivity. Maximum patients presented in second to fourth decade of life. Cervical region was the most common site of involvement with solitary lymphadenopathy as the most common presentation in contrast to matted lymph nodes as reported by others. Conclusion: Yet again Fine needle aspiration cytology is a safe, cheap and reliable procedure requiring minimal instrumentation and is highly sensitive to diagnose tuberculous lymphadenitis. The diagnostic index can be further increased by complementing cytomorphology with acid fast staining and culture techniques. However FNAC complimented with techniques like ELISA and PCR would give better dimensions to the current scenario of diagnosis and treatment modalities.

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