Cytology in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

The study of cytology in duodenal and/or pure pancreatic juice has been proposed in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. In our experience the sensitivity of cytology in duodenal juice, collected during Secretin-Cholecystokinin test, in diagnosing pancreatic cancer was 66.6%. False positive results were obtained only rarely (1.4%) in patients with chronic pancreatitis and benign diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The cytological evaluation of pure pancreatic juice, obtained by ERCP, increases sensitivity up to 80-90%, especially when the combination of the results of ERCP and cytology is performed. Cytological examination of duodenal and/or pure pancreatic juice is a useful tool in detecting pancreatic malignancy and in differential diagnosis with chronic pancreatitis.

CEA concentration and cytology in duodenal fluid collected during the Secretin-Pancreozymin test. Attempt at an early diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma by means of simple procedure.

CEA concentration in juice collected during the Secretin-Pancreozymin test, and cytology were evaluated in order to establish whether they may be used as an aid in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma before resorting to x-ray examinations. Thirty-three subjects were studied: 6 normal subjects, 12 with chronic pancreatitis, 3 after recovery from acute pancreatitis, 8 with gall-stones, 3 with carcinoma of the pancreas and 1 with cancer of the biliary tract. Three duodenal juice samples (at 30, 60 and 90 mins of hormonal infusion) were taken in each subject for CEA, cytology, bicarbonate and trypsin determinations. Although a significant statistical difference was noted between normal subjects and patients with carcinoma of the pancreas in the 30-min-juice sample, CEA concentration in the duodenal juice did not seem a reliable index in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. The information provided by cytology was also very scanty and sometimes misleading. The clinical picture and radiological investigation still remain the surest basis for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

[Value and limitations of exfoliative cytological study of the pancreatico-duodenal juice collected during the secretin and pancreozymin test in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma]. / Validità e limiti dello studio della citologia esfoliativa sul succo pancreatico-duodenale raccolto durante test alla secretina e pancreozimina nella diagnosi di carcinoma pancreatico.

Studies on exfoliative cytology of the pancreatic-duodenal juice in the diagnosis of pancreas neoplasia are not numerous and the data reported are not uniform. The present study examines 176 patients, 18 of them suffering from carcinoma of the pancreas. In these latter patients there were no advanced signs of the disease. Cytology gave a correctly negative result in 46.8% of the normal subjects and in those with non-neoplastic pancreatic or digestive conditions, correctly positive in 66.6% of the pancreas neoplasias, falsely negative in 2,2% of the total series and in 33.3% of the pancreatic cancers, and falsely positive in 1,1% of the series. In 47.7% of cases, the study proved useless owing to the absence of material in the collected juice.

Retest reliability of the Halstead Impairment Index in a normal, a schizophrenic, and two samples of organic patients.

In a 1974 study Matarazzo, et al. reported the test-retest reliability of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for a sample of normal young men and a comparison group of older Ss with cerebrovascular disease. The present study extended this earlier one by addition of comparable test-retest findings from two additional comparison groups: a sample of chronic schizophrenic Ss and a sample of organic patients who underwent endarterectomy. Despite the lack of comparability across the four samples on many dimensions, including age and test-retest interval, the results again reveal a high degree of clinical as well as purely psychometric reliability for most of the tests in the neuropsychological battery and the additional suggestion for further research that the test-retest instability found for some of the Ss in the schizophrenic sample may, itself, hold promise of differential clinical significance in the diagnosis of a "schizophrenic" vs. "organic" process.