Iffat Jamal, Ramesh Prasad Dwivedi, R.V.N. Singh
BACKGROUND Tuberculosis is a worldwide health problem with highest incidence in developing countries like India. It involves a large number of organs including lungs, pleural lymph nodes, genital sytem, gastrointestinal tract, etc. In resource poor countries, cytological examination of pleural fluid serves as a rapid, effective, economical and easy method of diagnosing tubercuolus pleural effusions, which can be correlated with other newer ancillary techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was conducted on 100 patients coming to Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna, over a period of two years from August 2012 to September 2014 with clinical complaints of cough, fever and chest pain with a clinical diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion. RESULTS Pleural tapping was done and detailed cytological examination of pleural fluid was done and its findings were correlated with gross, biochemical and microbiological findings. Both wet fixed (Giemsa stained) and air-dried slides (Papanicolaou stained) were prepared and microscopic examination was done. Special stains like Ziehl-Neelsen stain (ZN stain) for acid-fast bacilli was also performed for confirmation. CONCLUSION Cytological smears revealed predominance of lymphocytes. Mesothelial cells were absent or nearly absent. Eosinophils followed mesothelial cell pattern and were absent in a relatively large number of cases. This technique is safe, reliable, cost-effective and can be used for diagnostic purposes. It is also less traumatic as compared to pleural biopsy. Cytological examination when combined with other newer diagnostic test increases the chances of accurate diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion.
