Comparative Analysis of Cytomorphometric Parameters Among the Coconut Oil, Peanut Oil and Normal Saline in an Air-Dried Smears - A Switch to Routine Wet fixation

Abstract

Objectives: Rehydration of air-dried exfoliative cytology smears is considered as useful technique to increase the diagnostic accuracy of the air-dried smears and so the study had a point to determine and compare the cytomorphometric parameters of air-dried smears by rehydration using coconut oil, peanut oil and normal saline. Material and Methods: A total of 135 smears were obtained from healthy volunteers and were air-dried. The smears were classified into three groups based on the rehydrating agent: coconut, peanut, and normal saline. The air-dried smears were rehydrated for a period of 5 minutes. And subsequently stained with Papanicolaou stain. The smears were studied under a microscope to evaluate cytoplasm and nuclear details and the quality of the background staining. Scores were assigned to each group and statistically analyzed using the chi-square test. Results: All the studied parameters, such as cytoplasm, nucleus, and background, demonstrated high frequencies of superior scores in the peanut oil group, followed by the coconut oil group and the normal saline group. (p < 0.05) Conclusion: Peanut oil is a rehydrating agent superior to coconut oil and can rehydrate the air-dried smears.