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Hypersegmentation of neutrophils in the cerebrospinal fluid: Report of a case with hematologic correlation and review of the literature
Author(s) -
LodgeRigal R. Daniel,
Novotny Debra B.
Publication year - 1994
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.2840110113
Subject(s) - medicine , cerebrospinal fluid , hematologic disease , megaloblastic anemia , pathology , anemia , meningitis , surgery , disease
Hypersegmented neutrophils can occasionally be seen in the cere‐brospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with acute pyogenic meningitis, and rarely as an artifact of cytocentrifugation. We report a case of florid neutrophil hypersegmentation in cytocentrifuged CSF specimens from a patient presenting with anemia and mental status changes. Megaloblastic anemia was excluded by a thorough hematologic evaluation, and the patient was later found to have an epidural abscess. The striking hypersegmentation is attributed to the combined effects of meningeal infection and cytocentrifugation, and a review of the available limited literature on cytomorphologic alterations in CSF cells, specifically neutrophils, is presented. Diagn Cytopathol 1994; 11:56–59. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.