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Comparative Studies | Pathology | India | Volume 12 Issue 11, November 2023 | Popularity: 5.7 / 10

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Efficacy of Rehydrated Air Dried Smears Over Wet Fixed Smears in Cervical Cytology

Dr. Naisna Nasar, Dr. Supriya .P, Dr. M. H. Shariff, Dr. Sadiq Unnisa .A

Abstract: Background: Pap smear is the simplest and excellent screening method for the early diagnosis of cervical carcinoma. In Pap smear preparation, wet fixation in 95% ethanol is usually used as a standard fixation method. Improper fixation and air - drying artifact can result in unsatisfactory specimens for interpretation. Rehydration of air - dried smears can be adopted, as an alternative to conventional wet fixation to overcome these problems, especially in rural screening programmes. Objectives: To compare the efficacy of rehydrated air - dried smears over wet fixed smears in cervical cytology. Methodology: A prospective comparative study was done for a period of three months. Pap smears were collected from 112 patients, two slides were fixed in ethanol and one slide was air - dried and rehydrated. The smears were then evaluated for eight cytomorphological parameters. Results: Air dried smears were found to be significantly better compared to wet fixed smears with regard to improved cellularity, less cytolysis, less air - drying artifacts and rendering clearer background by lysing RBCs. Air dried smears also showed better cytoplasmic staining, distinct cellular and nuclear border and crisp chromatin which were statistically significant. Conclusion: Rehydration of air dried smears is simple and convenient method that can be adopted in resource limited settings because of many advantages compared to the conventional wet fixation method.

Keywords: Cervical Pap smear, Air - drying artifact, Rehydrated air - dried smear

Edition: Volume 12 Issue 11, November 2023

Pages: 673 - 675

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