title: Use of fine needle aspiration cytology in the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis: a comparison with the conventional scraping method.
abstract: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Iran. Scraping smears are widely used and fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology is now attracting more attention. Both methods were performed on the clinically suspected cases in our study. Smears were stained using Giemsa. We compared the sensitivity, specificity and some other aspects of these two methods. Of our 400 patients, 346 had specimens that were positive for leishman body, and of these 328 were detected using both methods. However, 42 cases were confirmed positive by FNA cytology and 18 as a result of scraping smears. There was a significant difference between the two methods in the detection of leishman body and microgranuloma, slide background and patient comfort. The sensitivity of FNA cytology was greater even though the specificity was the same. Our study confirmed the advantages of FNA cytology as a reliable method for the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Massood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosseinzadeh
authors.forename: Navid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Omidifar
authors.forename: Mohamad Hosein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Lohrasb
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001399:Azure Stains; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007891:Leishmania / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001399:Azure Stains; D004396:Coloring Agents