Evaluation of cervical smears at King Hussein Medical Centre, Jordan, over three and a half years

Cervical smears taken from women referred for a check-up or with vaginal itching/discharge over a period of 3.5 years were reviewed at the King Hussein Medical Centre, Jordan. All smears were fixed with 96% alcohol, stained with Papanicolaou stain and screened microscopically. Of the smears from 1176 women aged 18-70 years, 4.5% were classified as inadequate, 7.7% were normal and 79.9% showed non-specific inflammation. Abnormal vaginal flora was found in 4.8% of cases, C and ida albicans in 1.2%, Trichomonas vaginalis in 0.9% and actinomycosis in 1 case. Dysphasic changes were rare: 9 cases [0.8%] were classified as atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance [ASCUS] and 2 cases [0.2%] were low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion [LSIL]. No cases of human papillomavirus infection [HPV] or cervical carcinoma were found

Effect of water softening on the colour intensity of routine haematoxylin and eosin stain

Haematoxylin and eosin [H and E] is the most popular routine stain used in pathology laboratories for highlighting cellular structures. To study the effect of tap water'softening' [i.e. calcium extraction] on H and E stains, 5 sets of slides from 30 different paraffin-embedded human pathologic tissue blocks were prepared in the same way except for washing with 5 different types of water. Slides washed in untreated tap water showed the best results concerning differentiation and colour intensity, while slides washed with softened or other treated water showed poorer degrees of differentiation and colour intensity. The worst results were obtained from slides washed with water containing sodium bicarbonate. Low calcium and magnesium ions and high sodium ions in soft water adversely affect the results of routine H and E stain