A Comparatve Study on Diagnostic Yield Between Centrifuged Method of Cytology and Cell Block Technique

Abstract

Cytological examination of serous fluids is of paramount importance in disease diagnosis. Cell blocks are particularly useful when the cytological abnormalities are misleading, such as in reactive mesothelial cells or obscure as in occasional well differentiated adenocarcinoma. In the present study, these methods are applied to pleural and peritoneal fluids to conclude the diagnosis as inflammatory, benign or malignant lesion. A sample of 110 fluids obtained during August 2011 to August 2012 in the Department of Pathology, Narayana Medical College, Nellore. Out of 110, 76 (69%) are pleural and 34 (31%) were peritoneal samples. Men were 56.4% and women were 43.6% and the mean age of the study was 50.19 with a standard deviation of 14.81. Among 110 fluids 15 were clinically diagnosed as malignant effusions. Out of which 11 were reported as positive for malignant cells and 4 cases were negative. 3 cases were reported as positive for malignant cells in which they were clinically not diagnosed. Out of 110 cases, 12 were reported as positive for malignant cells by smear whereas 14 cases were reported as positive for malignant cells by cell block. The diagnostic yield is increased by cell block technique. The cell block technique not only increased the positive results, but also helped to demonstrate better architectural patterns which could be of great help in approaching the correct diagnosis of the primary site.
 Keywords: Cell Block Technique, Cytospin smear, Diagnostic Yield, Adeno carcinoma