Comparison of Leishman Staining With H&E Staining Technique in the Study of FNAC Smears

Introduction:Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is used widely for the preliminary pre-operative diagnosis of all superficial palpable lesions and for deep seated lesions under ultrasound guidance. Though Pap stain, May GrunwaldGiemsa (MGG) and Haematoxylin and Eosin (H & E) stains are used commonly, Leishman stain provides good cytoplasmic and background details. Hence, it can beused in adjunct with other stains. Aims:The aims of this study are to compare the FNAC smears stained with Leishman with those stained with H&E stain and to analyze the better staining technique for specific smears by comparing the characteristics of nuclear, cytoplasmic and background staining. Materials and Methods:A comparative study was carried out with 200 cases in the surgical OPD, 4 smears were prepared for each case, two stained with Leishman and the other two with H&E stain. A scoring system was created in which 4 grades (1 to 4) were allotted to nucleus, cytoplasm and background staining, and quality index is calculated by dividing the score obtained with the total score possible. Results:H&E stained slides were excellent in nuclear morphology, cytoplasmic color and background while the Leishman stained slides varied in the parameters. Cases of colloid goiter with cystic change (QI=1.0), ganglion (QI=1.0), colloid goiter (QI=0.78), lipoma (QI=0.77) and benign cystic lesion (QI=0.74) were among the top to be viewed well in Leishman stain while that of fibroadenoma (QI=0.53) and fibrocystic disease (QI=0.55) were the ones which failed to give an excellent quality picture. Conclusion:Though Leishman stain has lesser mean quality index compared with H&E stain, it can be combined with other stains thus making the staining procedure simplified and staining time shortened, thereby saving manpower which can prove economical.