Cytological Evaluation of Two Methods of Effusion Cell Block Preparations
Keywords:
Serous effusions, Conventional smear, Cellblock, Plasma thrombin method, formalin cell blockAbstract
Background: Cell Block (CB) procedures have now become an established part of cytological diagnostics because of its pivotal role in diagnosis and ancillary studies. Hence the  present study was undertaken to emphasize  the role of CB technique over Conventional Smear (CS) in serous effusions and to compare the Plasma-Thrombin (PT) block to Formalin  Method  block (FM) in assessment of  morphological  preservation and cellularity.
Aim: To obtain simple , cost effective  and ideal CB preparation where in maximal number of cells are displayed within a small area
Methods:  The sample was divided into three Parts(A,B,C). After centrifugation of all three parts  of sample  at 3000rpm for 15min – Part A sediment was used to prepare two CS for  Papanicolaou (PAP)  and May Grunwald Giemsa(MGG)  stains. Part B sediment was subjected for 1hr  and  24hr fixation  in 1:1 solution of 5ml  ethylalcohol and  10%  formalin. To the Part C sediment  2drops  of  finger prick plain blood was added,  mixed well and   allowed to clot. The  sediment of Part B and the clot  of Part C were  then processed for paraffin embedding.
Result: 110 fresh effusion samples were evaluated for cellularity retention of architectural patterns and volume of background. FM block’s were inconclusive in 12 cases due to low cellularity. PT block’s were all evaluable with best preservation of architecture and pale background.
Conclusion: The CB technique revealed better architectural patterns and increased the sensitivity of cytodiagnosis. PT block’s  had  sufficient  to  abundant  cellularity with evenly distributed cells in small area. PT preparation  is simple and cost  effective.Â
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DOI:Â 10.21276/APALM.1432
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