Combined use of the "scratch and smear" sampling technique and Ultrafast Papanicolaou stain for intraoperative cytology.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the applicability of Ultrafast Papanicolaou stain (UFP), a 90-second, high-resolution stain incorporating the air-dried rehydration technique, to intraoperative cytology in surgical pathology laboratories.

STUDY DESIGN: Two hundred sixty-two randomly selected surgical specimens for intraoperative consultations were included in the study. Each specimen was first conventionally prepared by touch imprinting, wet fixation in alcohol and staining by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E); the remaining specimens were then sampled by the "scratch and smear" technique and subjected to the UFP staining protocol.

RESULTS: The combined use of the scratch and smear sampling technique and UFP staining was superior to the conventional methods of touch imprinting and H&E staining in every case because of the following features: (1) intact tissue fragments composed of both epithelial and stromal elements rather than epithelial cells only, (2) polychromasia rather than bichromasia, (3) sharper nuclear and cytoplasmic details, (4) histologic criteria applicable to thick tissue fragments due to transparency and flatness and (5) clear background devoid of red blood cells and eosin.

CONCLUSION: The combined use of the "scratch and smear" sampling technique and UFP enhances intraoperative cytology.