Premium
Vegetable cells in Papanicolaou‐stained cervical smears
Author(s) -
Rivasi Francesco,
Tosi Giovanni,
Ruozi Barbara,
Curatola Carlo
Publication year - 2006
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/dc.20407
Subject(s) - medicine , papanicolaou stain , papanicolaou test , pathology , gynecology , cervical cancer , cancer
Vegetable cells are unusual findings in Papanicolaou‐stained cervical smears; these structures could be wrongly mistaken for abnormal human cells, worm eggs, or spores by a cytologist encountering the possibility of meeting those elements in cytological analysis. Five cervicovaginal smears showing similar vegetable cells have been detected over a 3‐yr period (2002–2004) in the course of a population screening program for cancer of the uterine cervix in Modena (Italy) involving 32,500 women. According to the clinical histories of the patients, the vaginal pharmaceutical drugs or appliances used were of different types: vaginal lavages, pessaries, and vaginal creams. Following a careful investigation, the only substance that can lead to vegetal elements has been identified as polysaccharide galactomannan, which is one of the excipient present in the drugs used. The authors have identified the origin of these contaminants and the means of pollution, using cytological and pharmaceutical investigation. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006;34:45–49. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.