Cytology of follicular cervicitis: Differential diagnoses Citología de la cervicitis folicular: Diagnósticos diferenciales

Abstract

One of the most frequent problems that occur when reading a cytological smear are the differential diagnoses. This research aims to describe the findings and cytological changes found in follicular cervicitis and differential diagnosis. The samples were obtained in a particular cytopathological laboratory in Bogotá, to which the corresponding readings were made taking into account the following variables: cellular characteristic, cellular desquamation, cytoplasm, nucleus, fundus and non-epithelial cell elements. The results were: the core of 94% of the lymphocytes in follicular cervicitis was small and large in 6%. The chromatin was granular in 70%, homogeneous 28% and hyperchromatic in 2%. The non-epithelial cellular elements were represented by 12% plasmocytes, 20% histiocytes and macrophages with tingible bodies by 68%. The morphological changes of the squamous cells were associated with reactive processes of inflammation. The results of the differential diagnoses were analyzed in a descriptive way taking into account the cellular characteristic (poorly defined border), cellular desquamation (conglomerates and syncytia), the scarce and sometimes vacuolated cytoplasm, the small, round and oval nucleus, and the background in the malignant lesions with tumor diathesis, and in the reactive processes clean and in some cases inflammatory.