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Diagnostic accuracy of pericardial fluid cytology: An analysis of 53 specimens from 44 consecutive patients
Author(s) -
MalamouMitsi Vassiliki D.,
Zioga Aikaterini P.,
Agnantis Niki J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0339(199609)15:3<197::aid-dc5>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - medicine , pericardial fluid , cytopathology , cytology , malignancy , biopsy , radiology , diagnostic accuracy , predictive value , cytological techniques , pathology , pericardial effusion , surgery
Over a 7‐yr period, a total of 53 pericardial fluid specimens from 44 patients was examined. A correlation between cytological and histological diagnosis was made in 19 of these cases. In the remaining 25 cases, where a biopsy was not performed, the cytological diagnosis was correlated with the final clinical diagnosis and the patients' clinical outcome. Finally, in 9 out of 14 cases of malignancy where both cytological and a histological diagnosis was made, the cytologic prediction of the histologic type of cancer was evaluated. The overall sensitivity was 100%, the overall specificity was 93.3%, and the overall cytological accuracy was 95.4%. The predictive value of the correct histologic type of cancer by cytology was 77.7%. Our findings show that the careful cytomorphological examination of pericardial fluid aspirates is a valuable, reliable, and diagnostically highly accurate method, which could be performed on a routine basis in a busy cytopathology department. Judiciously chosen ancillary procedures, as well as clinicopathological correlation, are of great value for an accurate diagnosis in problematic cases. Diagn Cytopathol 1996; 15:197–204. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.