Abstract :
Background: Collection of an abnormal quality and quantity of fluid in the pleural cavity is called pleural
effusion. Cytological analysis of pleural effusions plays an important role in the diagnosis of various
lesions. The objective of the study is to evaluate the utility of pleural effusion cytology as an attempt
to diagnose the underlying etiology.
Materials and Methods: A prospective study for one year duration from September 2018 - August 2019
was conducted in the Department of Pathology- S N M C and H.S.K hospital and Research Centre,
Bagalkot. Pleural fluids received for cytological analysis from all the departments were included in the
study. After a thorough physical examination, microscopic evaluation was done. The smears were stained
with Giemsa, Papanicolaou stain and Hematoxylin and Eosin Stains. ZN stain was done in suspected cases
of tuberculosis.
Results: 65 cases of pleural effusion were evaluated out of which67% of patients were males and 33%
were females. Out of 65 cases 53.8% showed right sided pleural effusion, 24.6% showed left sided
pleural effusion and 21.5% showed bilateral pleural effusion. All the smears were screened for malignancy
and resulted in 14% of positive cases. The 86% non-malignant cases were further classified based on
the cytology findings; 46.1% lymphocytic predominant, 32.3% neutrophilic predominant, 4.6% reactive
mesothelial cell predominant and 1.5% eosinophilic predominant.
Conclusion: This study showed that meticulous evaluation of the pleural fluids for their cytological
properties will help the clinicians in pointing towards the underlying etiological factor and to choose an
appropriate management.
Keyword :
Pleural effusion, Non-Malignant Effusion, Malignant Effusion, Metastatic Adenocarcinoma, Lymphoma.