Microfilariae in Fine Needle Aspirates From a Coastal District of India: An Experience With Brief Review of Literature

Filariasis is a major public health problem in tropical countries like India. Conventional diagnosis is by demonstrating microfilariae (MF) in the peripheral blood smear. Nocturnal periodicity of the species endemic in India makes it difficult to find microfilariae in blood. Incidental detection of microfilariae (MF) in fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) smears of various sites in clinically unsuspected cases of filariasis without microfilariae in the peripheral blood has been rarely documented in Indian literature. We are reporting interesting detection of MF in 10 aspirates over a period of one year, form various sites as well as lesions ranging from inflammatory to malignancy. This article is intended to highlight that microfilaria can be a finding in clinically unsuspected cases and also without peripheral blood eosinophilia.