title: Reproducibility of a quantitative cutaneous cytological technique.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cutaneous cytology is a valuable tool for diagnosis of canine superficial pyoderma. Current published reproducible techniques are semiquantitative.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility of a quantitative method for skin surface cytology in dogs with superficial pyoderma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Impression smears were collected from five normal dogs and 20 dogs with clinical and cytological evidence of superficial pyoderma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four investigators evaluated 10 oil immersion fields (OIF) on 25 slides, selecting fields with inflammatory cells, nuclear streaming and or keratinocytes under ×10 magnification. Investigators repeated blinded evaluations of all slides at least twice. For each OIF, polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), intracellular (IC) cocci, extracellular (EC) cocci, IC rods, EC rods and yeast were quantified. Nuclear streaming was scored as present or absent. For each parameter, within-reader and between-reader agreements were expressed by the intraclass correlation (ICC) value (≤0.20 poor, 0.21-0.40 fair, 0.41-0.60 moderate, 0.61-0.80 good and 0.81-1.00 excellent) or kappa statistic (κ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Reproducible parameters included: PMNs (ICC = 0.58), nuclear streaming (ICC = 0.68), EC cocci (ICC = 0.64) and IC cocci (ICC = 0.32). When qualified as present or absent, within-reader κ for IC cocci was 0.71. The method demonstrated 93% sensitivity in identifying dogs with superficial pyoderma and 51% specificity in identifying normal dogs according to established criteria. However, if criteria for normal dogs were limited to the absence of PMNs and IC bacteria, sensitivity of 64% and specificity of 98% were demonstrated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For several parameters, including PMNs, nuclear streaming, EC cocci and IC cocci, a reproducible, quantitative cytological technique was identified.
authors.affiliation: Animal Dermatology Clinic, 4834 Lincoln Boulevard, Marina Del Rey, CA, 90292, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Udenberg
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Wayne S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Rosenkrantz
authors.forename: Rudayna M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ghubash
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Angus
authors.forename: Nayak L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Polissar
authors.forename: Moni B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Neradilek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002452:Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D011711:Pyoderma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology