Evaluation of Relative Frequency of Pulmonary Hypoplasia and Various Anomalies Associated with Pulmonary Hypoplasia in Fetal Autopsy Study.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary hypoplasia (PH) is one of the commonest causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The suggested diagnostic criteria for PH are the Lung Weight:Body Weight (LW:BW) ratio ≤ 0.012 and/or Radial Alveolar Count (RAC) ≤ 4.1. The present study was done to determine the relative frequency of PH in fetal autopsy study by the LW:BW ratio and RAC along with evaluation of the defects/anomalies associated with PH. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A prospective observational study was done on fetal autopsy specimens in the Department of Pathology. Examination and grossing were done as per the standard format of fetal autopsy study. Evaluation of PH was done using the LW:BW ratio and RAC. Diagnostic criteria for PH were taken as LW:BW ratio < 0.012 and/ or RAC < 4.1. Chi-square test, Student T test and Kruskal Wallis test were used in statistical analysis. RESULTS: A diagnosis of PH was made in 45 cases. Concordance between the LW:BW ratio and RAC was observed in 33 cases amounting to 73.33%. The mean LW:BW ratio was the lowest in oligohydramnios. The mean RAC was the lowest in congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation. CONCLUSION: A diagnosis of PH was rendered in a greater number of cases when evaluation was done by considering both the LW:BW ratio and RAC. Hence, evaluation by both the LW:BW ratio and RAC provides a reliable index of lung growth and should be an essential part of fetal autopsy study.

Endometrial blood vessel morphometry in patients presenting with abnormal uterine bleeding.

Background: : Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is one of the most common problems encountered in gynecological practice. Various benign and malignant disorders of the endometrial tissue show vascular changes such as congestion, dilatation, and vessel wall irregularities. Aim: To evaluate the vascular morphometry of the endometrial tissue in AUB. Materials and Methods: : A descriptive cross-sectional study of the endometrial tissue in patients presented with AUB was undertaken for vascular morphometric analysis. Histopathological processing of the endometrial tissue samples was done as per the standard format, and the slides were evaluated for vascular morphometry. Results: Out of 150 cases of endometrial tissue in patients presented with AUB, 80 cases were reported as proliferative phase, 41 as secretory phase, 15 as disordered proliferative endometrium, 6 as atrophic phase endometrium, and 4 each of endometrial hyperplasia without atypia and endometrial carcinoma. An average number of endometrial blood vessels and large-sized blood vessels were more in endometrial carcinoma and endometrial hyperplasia without atypia as compared to proliferative phase, secretory phase, atrophic endometrium, and disordered proliferative endometrium. Vessel shape irregularities and vascular congestion were observed in all the cases of atrophic endometrium, endometrial carcinoma, and endometrial hyperplasia without atypia. Endometrial carcinoma showed severe dilatation of the endometrial blood vessels. Conclusion: Vascular morphometry changes were noted in endometrial hyperplasia, endometrial carcinoma, disordered proliferative endometrium, and atrophic phase endometrium. These findings suggest that studies or trials related to anti-angiogenic therapy may help to plan anti-angiogenic therapy in patients with AUB.

Steroid Cell Tumor of the Ovary - A Rare Case Report and Review of Literature.

Steroid cell tumors of the ovary are extremely rare, accounting for only 0.1% of all ovarian tumors. Most steroid cell tumors secrete steroid hormones, and only about 10%-15% of patients are asymptomatic. The clinical presentation may take many forms, including abdominal pain, distention, irregular menstrual cycles, and hirsutism. Here, we present a case of a 60-year-old postmenopausal patient who presented with complaints of bleeding per vagina and abdominal pain for 4 months. Ultrasonography (USG) revealed a hypoechoic left adnexal mass measuring 65 mm × 40 mm × 30 mm. Based on these USG findings, the diagnosis of cystic lesion of the left ovary was made. Total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was done, and the specimen was sent for histopathological analysis. On histopathology, diagnosis of steroid cell tumor-not otherwise specified was offered. This case is reported due to its rarity and its unusual presentation, together with a brief review of the literature of the same.

Rare association of cyclopia with craniospinal rachischisis.

Cyclopia is a severe form of holoprosencephaly which results in children being born with just one eye, absence of nose and presence of a proboscis above the median eye. Incidence of cyclopia is around 1.05 in 1, 00,000 births, including stillbirths. The association of anencephaly with spinal rachichisis varies from 17-50%. However, the existence of cyclopia with anencephaly and spinal rachischisis has been reported only in 9 cases till date. We report one more case of cyclopia with anencephaly and spinal rachischisis. Awareness of this spectrum of association with cyclopia, albeit rare, will help in early antenatal diagnosis by fetal ultrasonography. Public education and strict adherence to folic acid supplementation can prevent this unfortunate anomaly.

Rehydration of Air-Dried Smears with Normal Saline: An Alternative for Conventional Wet Fixation Method in Cervical Cytological Study.

CONTEXT: Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is an effective exfoliative cytological investigation done for early recognition of cervical cancer. It also plays role in diagnosis of inflammatory lesions of cervix. AIMS: The aim of this study is (1) to compare the cytomorphological features in conventional Pap smear (C-PAPS) and rehydrated air-dried Pap smear (RADPS) and (2) to evaluate the efficacy of RADPS in cytodiagnosis of cervical lesion by comparing with cytomorphological features of conventional wet-fixed Pap smear. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Paired cervical smears were prepared for 247 patients. One was labeled as C-PAPS and another was labeled as RADPS. Comparison of both smears was done for various cytomorphological parameters. RESULTS: Out of 247 smears, 2.4% RADPS and 7.3% C-PAPS were reported as unsatisfactory. Red blood cell (RBC) background was present in 2% of RADPS and 42% of C-PAPS. Cytolysis and air-drying artifact were observed more in C-PAPS amounting to 2% and 4% in RADPS and 11% and 15% in C-PAPS. Cytoplasmic staining (97% RADPS vs. 94% C-PAPS) was superior in RADPS. Cell border, nuclear border, and chromatin of squamous and endocervical cells were better appreciated on RADPS compared to C-PAPS, and also statistically significant difference was observed. CONCLUSION: Rehydrated air-dried technique can be satisfactory alternative for conventional wet fixation method which can be followed routinely or in conjugation with C-PAPS, especially in cervical screening programs.

Effectiveness of the International Consensus Group criteria for manual peripheral smear review.

CONTEXT: The International Consensus Group for Hematology Review (ICGHR) are essentially review criteria designed to reduce the number of manual smear reviews following analysis in automated hematology analyzers (AHAs). Although AHAs are an indispensable part of the present-day clinical laboratory, manual smear reviews still play an integral role in identifying morphological abnormalities and to confirm the results of the analyzers. AIMS: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the ICGHR criteria and our laboratory criteria using the Sysmex XN-1000 for manual peripheral smear review (MSR). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cross-sectional comparative study between the two sets of criteria for MSR was performed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 860 whole blood samples sent over a period of 19 months for complete blood count testing to our laboratory were collected using systematic random sampling. Truth tables were prepared for each set of criteria. Tests of proportion were used to compare performance specifications between both sets of criteria. RESULTS: Using ICGHR criteria, sensitivity was 81.58%, specificity was 84.61%, 83.38% positive predictive value, and 82.92% negative predictive value. The microscopic smear review rate was 47.56% and efficiency was 83.14%. Using our laboratory criteria, sensitivity was 98.80%, specificity was 41.40%, positive predictive value of 61.46%, and negative predictive value of 97.34%. The microscopic smear review rate was 78.14% and efficiency 69.30%. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant reduction in the microscopic smear review rates using the ICGHR criteria compared to our laboratory criteria. The ICGHR criteria can thus be adapted to daily laboratory practice provided they are first optimized and locally validated before use.

Pleomorphic Hyalinizing Angiectatic Tumour: A Rare Case Report and Discussion of Differential Diagnosis.

Pleomorphic Hyalinizing Angiectatic Tumour (PHAT) is one of the rare soft tissue tumour which is non-metastasizing. The origin of this tumour is yet uncertain. It occurs in adults as a slow growing subcutaneous mass mimicking clinically and histologically to various benign and malignant soft tissue tumours such as schwannoma, haemangioma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The microscopic features of this tumour include clusters of ectatic, fibrin containing, hyalinized blood vessels with pleomorphic and spindle shaped tumour cells showing intranuclear inclusions, stromal haemosiderin pigment and a variable inflammatory infiltrate. Despite marked pleomorphism, the lesion behaves as a low grade neoplasm, with frequent recurrences, but no metastases. The incidence of this tumour is very rare with less than 100 cases being published. Hence, awareness of this entity is must for proper management of the patient and to avoid misdiagnosis of the lesion. We report a case of pleomorphic hyalinizing angiectatic tumour in a 50-year-old man who presented with a slow growing mass in the left calf region since two years.

Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma Co-Existing with Intraductal Papillary Carcinoma of Male Breast: A Rare Case Report.

Male breast carcinomas are rare tumours, accounting for less than 1% of all malignancies in men. Intracystic Papillary Carcinoma (IPC) in males is a very rare entity, representing 5-7.5% of all male breast carcinomas. It lacks the classical clinical, radiological and cytological features of malignancy and usually presents as a benign-appearing lump. We report a case of Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (IDC) co-existing with intracystic papillary carcinoma in a 53-year-old male who presented with lump in the right breast.

An unusual gross appearance of vulval tuberculosis masquerading as tumor.

Tuberculosis of the vulva is very rare. It is found in about 0.2% of the cases of genital tract tuberculosis. It usually presents as small shallow ulcers and multiple sinus tracts or rarely as elephantiasis of vulva. Except for very rare cases of primary tuberculosis in the vulva, it is usually associated with tuberculosis elsewhere in the body leading to secondary tuberculosis. Here, we report a case of secondary vulval tuberculosis which presented as a vulval mass in a 40-year-old female patient. The rarity of this presentation in the female genital tract is emphasized.

Post thyroidectomy suture granuloma: a cytological diagnosis.

There are known post thyroidectomized complications, a suture granuloma being less frequent, with its late complication mimicking recurrent thyroid cancer. A suture granuloma is a benign, granulomatous inflammatory reaction that occurs due to the use of non absorbable suture. It constitutes one of the late complications which altogether make up less than 2% of its incidence. A suture granuloma is similar to a foreign body reaction and it usually develops slowly as a painless, palpable asymptomatic mass over the years. It mimics a cancer recurrence or a lymph node metastasis. Here, we are reporting a case of a post thyroidectomy suture granuloma in a 46 years old lady who presented with a painless swelling in the lateral neck, with a past history of thyroidectomy 5 years back.

Diagnostic utility of the cell block method versus the conventional smear study in pleural fluid cytology.

BACKGROUND: The cytological examinations of serous effusions have been well-accepted, and a positive diagnosis is often considered as a definitive diagnosis. It helps in staging, prognosis and management of the patients in malignancies and also gives information about various inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. Diagnostic problems arise in everyday practice to differentiate reactive atypical mesothelial cells and malignant cells by the routine conventional smear (CS) method. AIMS: To compare the morphological features of the CS method with those of the cell block (CB) method and also to assess the utility and sensitivity of the CB method in the cytodiagnosis of pleural effusions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in the cytology section of the Department of Pathology. Sixty pleural fluid samples were subjected to diagnostic evaluation for over a period of 20 months. Along with the conventional smears, cell blocks were prepared by using 10% alcohol-formalin as a fixative agent. Statistical analysis with the 'z test' was performed to identify the cellularity, using the CS and CB methods. Mc. Naemer's χ(2)test was used to identify the additional yield for malignancy by the CB method. RESULTS: Cellularity and additional yield for malignancy was 15% more by the CB method. CONCLUSIONS: The CB method provides high cellularity, better architectural patterns, morphological features and an additional yield of malignant cells, and thereby, increases the sensitivity of the cytodiagnosis when compared with the CS method.