Liquid Paraffin as a Rehydrant for Air Dried Buccal Smear

Abstract

Aim: To assess the efficacy of liquid paraffin as a rehydrant for air dried buccal smear based on the nuclear and cytoplasmic details. Background: Buccal smear is useful for diagnosing Malignancy, Fungal infection, Viral infection and Vesicullobullous dermatoses. The routine practice is to wetfixthe smear and send them to the laboratory for staining and evaluation by a cytopathologist. But drying of smears is inevitable, especially when the aspirate is less and when there is improper fixation. This can cause drying artifacts. An alternative method for overcoming this problem is intentional air drying followed by rehydration. Many rehydrants have been experimented upon. The most common rehydrant being saline. The present study is done to check the efficacy of liquid paraffin as a rehydrant. Material and methods: 2 sets of 20 buccal smears were collected from the patients. One set air dried for 24 hours and the other wet fixed. Conventional pap staining was then carried out. The slides were examined by two observers for preservation of Nuclear and cytoplasmic details based on the semi quantitative scoring system. Results: Excellent nuclear details were seen in 45% of air dried smear compared to 25%in routine wet fixation. The cytoplasmic details of air dried smear and routine wet fixed smear was the same. Conclusion: Liquid paraffin as a rehydrant has shown promising results and the nuclear details were found to marginally better than in routine wet fixed smear. Air dried buccal smears can be used in routine practice especially in rural areas where there is limited access to laboratories and for mass screening.