Eslavath Aruna1 , V. Kalyan Chakravarthy2
BACKGROUND The Papanicolaou stain is used in Pap smear test for screening women for cervical cancer. As this test is used extensively, there is always a need for newer and better stains that would be equivalent to the traditional Pap stain in terms of staining quality and at the same time having the advantages of quicker staining and low cost. Rapid Economic Acetic Acid (REAP) is one such stain. We wanted to compare the staining of traditional Papanicolaou stain with Rapid Economic Acetic Acid (REAP) stain for the Pap smear test. METHODS This was a prospective study done over a period of four months in the Department of Pathology, at PSIMS, Vijayawada. A total of 250 Pap smear samples were studied. Two slides for each woman who underwent the Pap smear test, were collected. One slide was stained with the traditional Pap stain and the other was stained with REAP stain and both the slides were compared in terms of staining quality, turn-around time, preservation of slides and cost. RESULTS The differentiation and transparency of the cytoplasm of REAP were optimal in 97 % smears. The staining quality was almost similar for both the stains. However, REAP stain required lesser staining time (3 minutes) and costed one fourth of the Pap stain. CONCLUSIONS REAP is a rapid, cost effective alternative to Papanicolaou stain for Pap smear test. It provides excellent staining and is less expensive. It also improves the turnaround time of the Pap smear test.
