@article{JTD15359,
author = {Theerada Assawasaksakul and Viboon Boonsarngsuk and Pimpin Incharoen},
title = {A comparative study of conventional cytology and cell block method in the diagnosis of pleural effusion},
journal = {Journal of Thoracic Disease},
volume = {9},
number = {9},
year = {2017},
keywords = {},
abstract = {Background: In a patient with pleural effusion, cytological study (CS) is one of the most useful investigations, especially when malignancy is suspected. Instead of applying only CS, the pleural fluid can be further processed using the cell block (CB) technique, which may augment the diagnostic utility. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yields of CS, CB, and the combination of both, regardless of the etiology of pleural effusion.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with pleural effusions who underwent thoracentesis from June 2015 to May 2016. All samples were submitted for routine biochemical analysis, CS, and CB histology. The results of cytopathological studies were compared to the final diagnoses.
Results: Out of a total of 353 samples, the final diagnoses included 278 (78.8%) malignancies, 41 (11.6%) infectious diseases, 16 (4.5%) other inflammatory diseases, and 18 (5.1%) transudative pleural effusions. CS and CB provided a similar diagnostic yield (48.7% vs. 49.9%, P=0.69), while the combination of both gave a higher yield (57.2%) (P},
issn = {2077-6624}, url = {https://jtd.amegroups.org/article/view/15359}
}