Saudi Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SJMPS)
Volume-4 | Issue-08 | 978-980
Original Research Article
Evaluation of Cell Block Technique as a Mandatory Diagnostic Tool for Serous Effusions
Kanmani Devi M, Arun Kumar T
Published : Aug. 30, 2018
Abstract
The accurate morphological identification of the cells is a diagnostic problem in conventional smears. By using 10% alcohol formalin as a fixative and obtaining cell block gives effective diagnosis regarding cellular morphology in serous effusions. This study was carried out to evaluate cell block technique as a diagnostic tool for serous effusions. It is expected that cell block technique will give better morphological details and thereby improve the sensitivity of the diagnosis in comparison with conventional smears. This retrospective study was conducted in cytology section in a tertiary care hospital,46 fluid samples were subjected to diagnostic evaluation over a period of 10months.The cell blocks were prepared by using 10% alcohol-formalin as a fixing agent along with the conventional smears. The nucleo-cytoplasmic details were evaluated as benign, suspicious for malignancy and malignancy in both conventional smears and cell block method. Out of 46cases only 3/46cases (6.53%) found to be malignant in conventional smearsand using cell block technique 6/46cases (13.043%) were positive for malignancy. Cell block technique is a useful adjuvant evaluating fluid cytology for the more presumptive diagnosis, when combined with conventional smear method. Cell blocks can be stored for a longer period for further evaluation and can be used for special stains, Immunohistochemistry and molecular diagnosis in order to obtain specific diagnosis.