Cytological Analysis of Body Fluids in A Tertiary Care Hospital of Jammu Region: A One-year Retrospective Observational Study

Introduction: Fluid cytology, a relatively non invasive technique, throws light on both malignant and non malignant causes of effusions. It especially contributes in cancer research and staging of various tumors. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study done over a period of two years from January 2014 to December 2015 in the department of Pathology, Kamineni Academy of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Hyderabad. The body fluids included in the study were pleural, peritoneal, pericardial and synovial fluids. All other fluids were excluded. The relevant clinical data was noted. Gross, cell count and cytomorphological examinations of fluid were done. Results: Out of 302 cases, pleural fluids, 148 (49.0%) cases, were most common, followed by peritoneal fluid, 125 (41.39%) cases and least common was pericardial fluid, 8 (2.64%) cases. The maximum numbers of cases was in 5th decade. The age range was 3 years to 84 years. Female preponderance was observed with M: F ratio of 1: 1.17. Lymphocyte rich exudates were most common in pleural effusion. In peritoneal and pericardial effusions, transudates were more and suppurative inflammation was predominant in synovial fluid analysis. Over all, malignant effusions constituted 18.54% of effusions. Metastatic adenocarcinoma was the commonest malignancy detected in all body cavity effusions. Conclusions: Fluid cytology is relatively painless, simple, cost effective, rapid technique that yields quick and reliable results. Some cases may present major interpretative challenges to the pathologist. Ancillary studies such as cell count, biochemical, microbiologic evaluation, cell block and immunohistochemistry (IHC) study help in accurate identification of diagnosis. Keywords: Body fluids, Malignant effusions, Transudates.

Background: Cytological examination of serous effusions is of paramount importance in differentiating malignant from non-malignant effusions as it is simple, rapid, less invasive, cost-effective method. It plays a significant role in early detection, staging, treatment and prognosis of patient. Materials & Methods: An observational study was performed over a time period from January 2021 to May 2024. A total of 1,321 cases including pleural, peritoneal, synovial and cerebrospinal fluid were analyzed. Samples were centrifuged for ten minutes at 3000 rpm and smears prepared from deposit were stained by Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E), Papanicolaou (PAP) and May-Grunwald-Giemsa (MGG) stains. Cytospin technique was also used for some samples. Results: Out of 1,321 cases, 780 were peritoneal effusions, 460 were pleural, 43 were cerebrospinal fluids and 38 were synovial fluids. The age range was newborns to 92 years. The maximum numbers of cases were in the age group of 51-60 years. Male preponderance was observed with male: female ratio of 1.31: 1. A total of 231 out of 1,321 cases (17.48%) were of transudative nature and 1,091 (82.49%) were exudative. Most common malignancy encountered was adenocarcinoma. Majority of the primary malignancy in pleural fluid and peritoneal fluid belonged to adenocarcinoma of lung and ovary respectively. Conclusion: Effusion cytology is simple, rapid, and cost-effective modality which helps clinicians and pathologists to reach accurate diagnosis for better patient management. Although it has its own limitations but it can be overcome by techniques like cell block, immunohistochemistry, biochemical and microbiological studies.

White blood cell count in biological fluids: development and evaluation using the automated particle-analysis DxUⓇ Iris instrument.

SummaryWe evaluated the performance of the automated body fluid mode of the Sysmex XE‐5000 series automated haematology analyzer and compared the performance of the automated method for obtaining white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) counts and WBC differential counts with microscopic method. One hundred and seventy‐four samples were analysed: 81 ascitic fluid, 32 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 26 pleural fluid (PF), 18 synovial fluid (SF), 13 peritoneal fluid (PeF) and 4 other types. The agreement between the automated method and the manual reference showed high correlation, with Pearson correlation coefficients greater than 0.9 for all types of body fluids. We also demonstrate that the automated body fluid analysis on the XE‐5000 is an acceptable alternative to the microscopic reference method as far as ascitic fluid, peritoneal dialysis fluid, SF or PF are concerned. Conversely, results for body fluid samples from oncology patients with leukaemia or tumours showed significant differences between both methods, as XE‐5000 counted blast cells and neoplastic cells in mononuclear cell count. XE‐5000 could represent an attractive method for the automated analysis of WBC, RBC, mononuclear cell count (MNC) and polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells of most body fluids. However, CSFs from patients with leukaemia or lymphoma should be processed with the microscopic reference method in order to detect abnormal leukaemic cells.

All body cavities are lined by monolayered mesothelial cells and contain a minimal amount of fluid for lubrication and for protecting the underlying viscera. The peritoneal, pleural, cerebrospinal, sputum, urine, and pericardial fluids comprise the major chunk of body fluids. The study was conducted in the Department of Pathology of a tertiary care hospital in northern India, over a period of 1 year, from January 2021 to December 2021. A total of 241 samples were included in the study. Out of the 241 samples studied, 99 were peritoneal fluid, 94 were pleural fluids, 29 were CSF, and 18 were sputum samples. Maximum number of patients affected were in the age group of 41-50 years. Female preponderance was seen with male to female ratio of 1:1.7. A total of 143/241 cases (59.33%) were of transudative nature and 98/241 (27.8%) cases were exudative. Out of 241 cases, 43 (17.84%) were neoplastic, 190 (78.83%) were non-neoplastic, four (1.65%) were suspicious for malignancy, and four (1.65%) were where no opinion was possible. Peritoneal fluid was the most frequently encountered fluid accounting for 99 cases (41.07%). Adenocarcinoma was the most common malignancy accounting for 29 cases (67.44%) out of 43 malignant effusions in the present study. Cytological evaluation of body fluids is of significant utility in diagnostic medicine as it allows us to distinguish between benign and malignant etiologies and at the same time offers rapid diagnosis and staging of metastatic disease.

Alpha-fetoprotein in pericardial, peritoneal, and pleural fluids: A body fluid matrix evaluation

The Cytological Diagnosis of a Malignant Effusion Is Independent of the Volume of Fluid Processed.

Background: Fluid cytology plays an important role in delineating benign from malignant effusions, tumor staging, and also in diagnosing recurrences. Various methods are used in cytology for the preparation of smears. As the accurate diagnosis of the fluids aids in clinical decisions, the method of preparation of cytology smears, it is very important. Cytospin preparation of smears is one of the methods which provide higher cellular yield with better preservation of cellular morphology and is less time consuming. On the other hand, cell block method gives superior architectural details and provides options for immunocytochemistry. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic utility of cytospin in comparison to cell block method in peritoneal and pleural fluid cytology. The study is done to determine the sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy of cytospin preparations with cell block method which is considered as the gold standard. Materials and Methods: This was a diagnostic test evaluation study done at the Department of Pathology, Government Medical College, Kottayam. The sample size was 240 which included all pleural and peritoneal fluids received in our cytology laboratory during the study period. Cytospin prepared smears of peritoneal and pleural fluids were compared with the tissue sections prepared by cell block method, to evaluate the diagnostic utility of cytospin. Tissue sections prepared from the cell blocks of effusions were considered as the gold standard for comparison. Results: A diagnostic test evaluation of cytospin preparation was done with cell block preparations. The sensitivity of cytopsin preparations in pleural and peritoneal fluid cytology is 94%. The specificity of cytopsin preparations in pleural and peritoneal fluid cytology is 100%. The positive predictive value of cytopsin preparations in pleural and peritoneal fluid cytology is 100% and the negative predictive value of cytopsin preparations in pleural and peritoneal fluid cytology is 96.8%. Hence, accuracy of the test is 97.9%. Conclusion: There is only minimal statistical difference between the results obtained by the cytospin and cell block methods. Cytospin method is less time consuming along with the advantage of higher cellular yield. Hence, the incorporation of cytospin along with the cell block technique is beneficial for augmenting the results of effusion cytology.

Distribution of piperacillin-tazobactam into cerebrospinal, peritoneal, and pleural fluid in children aged 0-18 years.

Background: Cytological study of body fluids a non-invasive, simple procedure, relatively inexpensive, and helps in faster reporting that has high population acceptance. The present study aims to determine the proportion of malignant and non malignant lesions.
 Methods: A total of 1129 specimens of exfoliative cytology were examined during the period over five years from year January 2011 to December 2016 at Department of Pathology at Chitwan Medical College Teaching Hospital, Nepal. The fluid received was centrifuged at 3000 revolutions per minute for five minutes. Smears were made from the sediment. Two to three slides were air dried and stained with Giemsa stain. One slide was immediately fixed in 95% alcohol and stained with Papanicolaou (Pap) stain for cytological evaluation.
 Results: Pleural fluid was most common specimen (49.3%) with peritoneal fluid (32%), pericardial fluid (1%), BAL (7.8%), CSF (4%), sputum (3.4%), synovial fluid (2%) and urine (0.5%) specimens. Male to female ratio was 1.33:1. Maximum cases belonged to age group of 50-69 years. Only (5.8%) 67 cases were neoplastic. The maximum cases of malignant neoplasm were detected in pericardial fluid and pleural fluid, each 21 (1.8%) cases, and 20 (1.7%) cases BAL. Malignant effusions were detected in 46 (4%) cases. Maximum malignant cases were adenocarcinoma (71.6%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (20.8%).
 Conclusion: Exfoliative cytology should be suggested in all cases of effusion and suspected malignancies which helps in reaching at a particular diagnosis and aids in further management.

To systemically analyze megakaryocytes in pleural and peritoneal fluids and their clinical significance. We retrospectively examined 10,846 pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial fluid samples obtained from 3 hospitals over a 20-year period. Megakaryocytes were observed in the pleural fluid samples from 7 patients and peritoneal fluid samples from 2 patients, and the incidence was 0.83%. The clinical diagnoses of these 9 patients included myeloproliferative disorders, trauma, and tumors. The serous effusions in all 9 patients were bloody, and the megakaryocytes could be associated with trauma, bone marrow pollution, extramedullary hematopoiesis, or cancer. Additionally, differentiating between megakaryocytes and tumor cells or nuclear mesothelial cells in the pleural fluid is difficult. Therefore, megakaryocytes should be carefully observed and differentiated in pleural and peritoneal fluids because they can be confused with other cells in the clinic. Altogether, the megakaryocytes in the pleural and peritoneal fluids were mainly associated with contamination in the bone marrow or extramedullary hematopoiesis.

To compare total protein (TP) concentrations in canine pleural and abdominal fluid specimens as measured by refractometry and biuret assay. Diagnostic test evaluation. Data regarding 92 pleural and 148 abdominal fluid specimens from dogs with various diseases. TP concentrations in fluid specimens as measured by refractometry and biuret assay were recorded. Strength of association between sets of measurements was assessed by Spearman rank correlations and Bland-Altman plots. Optimal concentration cutoff for diagnostic discrimination between exudate and nonexudate was identified by construction of receiver operating characteristic curves. Median TP concentration in pleural fluid specimens was 2.7 g/dL (range, 0.3 to 4.8 g/dL) for refractometry and 2.9 g/dL (range, 0.7 to 5.8 g/dL) for biuret assay. Median TP concentration in abdominal fluid specimens was 3.5 g/dL (range, 0.1 to 6.0 g/dL) for refractometry and 3.5 g/dL (range, 0.6 to 5.7 g/dL) for biuret assay. Correlation was significant between refractometric and biuret results for pleural (ρ = 0.921) and abdominal (ρ = 0.908) fluid. Bland-Altman plots revealed bias of -0.18 g/dL for pleural fluid and -0.03 g/dL for abdominal fluid for refractometry versus biuret assay. With a TP concentration of ≥ 3 g/dL used to distinguish exudate from nonexudate, sensitivity of refractometry was 77% for pleural fluid and 80% for abdominal fluid. Specificity was 100% and 94%, respectively. Refractometry yielded acceptable results for measurement of TP concentration in canine pleural and abdominal fluid specimens, providing a more rapid and convenient method than biuret assay.

Background: Body fluids (BF) including peritoneal, pericardial, pleural, synovial and cerebrospinal fluids are now being analyzed by fully automated methods that are replacing the manual methods. The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of automated instrument at varying concentrations of WBCs of various body fluid samples. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the section of Hematology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan from November 2020 to April 2021. Forty body fluid samples with suspicion of infection including peritoneal, pericardial, pleural, synovial and cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) were analyzed to verify accuracy of white blood cells counts on fully automated XN-1000TM hematology analyzer (Sysmex Corporation, Kobe, Japan) against Neubauer chamber method (a manual method of differentiating WBCs via microscopy). The culture results of the body fluid samples were also analyzed. EP Evaluator version 10.3.0.556 (Data Innovations, LLC, VT, US) was used for statistical analysis with other supporting statistics such as Correlation Coefficient (R), Bias, Mean and Standard Deviation were included. Results: Eleven (n=11) of forty (n=40) body fluid samples showed high WBC count above the normal range. Samples with normal WBC (n=29) were also included in accuracy study to assess instrument performance at varying concentration of analyte. An average Error Index of -0.27 (-0.99 to 0.74) for WBC was obtained. Microbiological cultures grew Escherichia. Coli in 1 and Acinetobacter species in 1 CSF samples and Staphylococcus Aureus in 1 pleural sample. Conclusion: The study verified accuracy of varying concentration of WBC counting by fully automated Sysmex XN-1000 analyzer for various body fluid samples. Keywords: Body fluids, Validation, Automated analyzer, Performance specifications, Accuracy verifications, High white blood count, Infectious.

No studies have determined the pharmacokinetics of low-dose amikacin in the mature horse. To determine if a single i.v. dose of amikacin (10 mg/kg bwt) will reach therapeutic concentrations in plasma, synovial, peritoneal and interstitial fluid of mature horses (n=6). Drug concentrations of amikacin were measured across time in mature horses (n=6); plasma, synovial, peritoneal and interstitial fluid were collected after a single i.v. dose of amikacin (10 mg/kg bwt). The mean±s.d. of selected parameters were: extrapolated plasma concentration of amikacin at time zero 144±21.8 µg/ml; extrapolated plasma concentration for the elimination phase 67.8±7.44 µg/ml, area under the curve 139±34.0 µg*h/ml, elimination half-life 1.34±0.408 h, total body clearance 1.25±0.281 ml/min/kg bwt; and mean residence time (MRT) 1.81±0.561 h. At 24 h, the plasma concentration of amikacin for all horses was below the minimum detectable concentration for the assay. Selected parameters in synovial and peritoneal fluid were maximum concentration (Cmax) 19.7±7.14 µg/ml and 21.4±4.39 µg/ml and time to maximum concentration 65±12.2 min and 115±12.2 min, respectively. Amikacin in the interstitial fluid reached a mean peak concentration of 12.7±5.34 µg/ml and after 24 h the mean concentration was 3.31±1.69 µg/ml. Based on a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 4 µg/ml, the mean Cmax:MIC ratio was 16.9±1.80 in plasma, 4.95±1.78 in synovial fluid, 5.36±1.10 in peritoneal fluid and 3.18±1.33 in interstitial fluid. Amikacin dosed at 10 mg/kg bwt i.v. once a day in mature horses is anticipated to be effective for treatment of infection caused by most Gram-negative bacteria. Low dose amikacin (10 mg/kg bwt) administered once a day in mature horses may be efficacious against susceptible microorganisms.

P37.20 Diagnostic EGFR Mutations in Non Small Cell Lung Cancer With Specimens of Body Cavity Fluids