Open AccessWhere to look for AFB in FNA Smears from tuberculous lymph nodes
Author(s) -
Dev Prasoon
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of cytology/journal of cytology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.267
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 0974-5165
pISSN - 0970-9371
DOI - 10.4103/joc.joc_58_18
Subject(s) - medicine , tuberculosis , acid fast , lymph , pathology , eosinophilic , sputum
Demonstration of acid fast bacilli (AFB) is essential for the definitive cytodiagnosis of tuberculosis. However, it is not seen in all cases of tuberculosis, being more commonly observed in necrotic lesions. Tuberculosis shows a spectrum of lesions that form a continuum extending from good immunity end with purely granulomatous lesions to poor immunity end with purely necrotic lesions. Each stage has distinctive microscopic picture and determines the chance of finding AFB. AFB yield was the highest (92.7%) in necrotic lesions containing eosinophilic structures (ES).