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Intraoperative cytology (squash smear) in neurosurgical practice – pitfalls in diagnosis experience based on 3057 samples from a single institution
Author(s) -
Goel D.,
Sundaram C.,
Paul T. R.,
Uppin S. G.,
Prayaga A. K.,
Panigrahi M. K.,
Purohit A. K.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1365-2303
pISSN - 0956-5507
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2303.2007.00484.x
Subject(s) - medicine , schwannoma , cytology , radiology , stain , diagnostic accuracy , pathology , staining
Objectives: The smear technique is challenging for a neuropathologist where rapid and accurate diagnosis is to be given on small biopsies. The present study, a large retrospective analysis of squash smears in neurosurgical practice, was conducted to assess the usefulness, accuracy and the diagnostic pitfalls of smear diagnosis. Methods: The authors analysed 3057 central nervous system (CNS) lesions sent for intraoperative cytology (IC) during the years 1988–2005. The stain used was 1% alcoholic toluidine blue. The smear diagnosis was compared with the histological diagnosis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Results: Diagnostic accuracy irrespective of lesion and site ranged from 83.0% to 86.0% per year (mean=85%). The highest rate of correlation among common brain tumours was noted in schwannoma (96.6%) and pituitary adenoma (92.2%), followed by meningiomas (88.9%), astrocytomas (88.4%), chordomas (86.4%) and neurocytomas (86.9%). Infections as a whole contributed 380 cases. The most common infection was tuberculosis. Conclusion: This is the largest series reported from India to the best of our knowledge. Squash smear technique is a very reliable and rapid method of intraoperative diagnosis. Knowledge of clinical and neuroimaging details helps the experienced neuropathologist to improve the diagnostic accuracy.