Bronchoalveolar lavage with wright and pap smears: Comparative cytological study

Lavado broncoalveolar con coloraciones de wright y papanicolaou: Estudio citológico comparativo

At the San José Hospital, samples of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) are processed and stained with routine Papanicolaou (PAP) staining, in which neoplasms are diagnosed and differential counts are performed. In this study, Wright's coloration was used to determine if it allowed more cellular detail and thus facilitate differential counting. We studied 25 patients who underwent LBA, attended from March to October 2003. The appearance of the spread, fundus, preservation and degeneration in inflammatory and epithelial cells was evaluated. The conclusion is that Wright staining is not useful for BAL samples, because it causes a high degree of degeneration, which prevents the correct cytological assessment. That is why the PAP is still the one of choice.

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