Published Paper Details:

Cytological techniques have been universally recognized as the most important diagnostic tool in the recognition of malignant tumours in effusions. To differentiate between reactive mesothelial cells and malignant cells is the diagnostic problem in conventional smear method. The efficacy of cytodiagnosis is increased in cell block method. This was a Hospital based Observational study, carried out during a period of one and a half years, at a Tertiary Care Hospital and Medical College, with the aim to assess the utility and diagnostic accuracy of conventional smear and cell block technique in cytodiagnosis of peritoneal fluid effusions. Total 62 patients were studied.Conventional smears and cell blocks were evaluated on the basis of cellularity, predominant cell type based on morphology, cellular arrangement (architecture) and background. The maximum number of 25 cases (40.32%) was in the age group of 41-60, with average mean age 49.3 years. Females, 23 (37.09%) outnumbered males 39 (20.6%). Diagnostic accuracy of conventional smears is 97.28% and that for cell block is 99.47%. Combined approach cell block in conjunction with conventional smear should be used in suspicious for malignancy cases.