Abstract :
Background: Intra operative cytology is an important diagnostic modality especially central nervous
system tumors. Squash smears most widely used cytological technique is rapid, accurate and relatively
uses little tissue. It also helps the surgeon to plan the extent of surgery.
Aim: To assess the accuracy of squash smear by comparing with the histopathological diagnosis.
Materials and Methods: A study of 52 cases at our institute. Complete clinical, demographic and
radiological findings were recorded. The smears were stained by rapid haematoxylin and eosin and
toluidine blue stain. The cytomorphological features were studied and were compared with the tissue
sections.
Results: Glial tumors formed the largest category of tumors constitutes 40.3%. A total 47 cases showed
complete concordance with histodiagnosis with a diagnostic accuracy of 95.9%. Conclusion: Squash smear
cytology proved to be a simple, inexpensive, rapid intraoperative neuropathological technique particularly
useful in astrocytomas.
Keyword :
CNS tumors, Intraoperative diagnosis, Squash cytology.