Pattern of ascitic fluid cytology in a tertiary centre: a 5 year review

Aims and objectives: To further establish ascitic fluid cytology (AFC), as an important rapid diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of ascitisin University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), and to demonstrate an improvement in technical skills, as demand for use of this method increases. Materials and methods: Samples of ascitic fluid submitted to the Department of Pathology,  UBTH, from 2010 -2014 were centrifuged.Thecellular deposits were smeared on glass slides and stained with Haematoxylin andEosin; Papanicolaou and Rapid Romanowsky Stains. All slides were examined and reported by pathologists. Results: A total of 277 ascitic fluid specimens were examined during the 5-year period under review. Ninety-one samples (32.9%), were from males, and 186 (67.1%) from females, with a male to female ratio of 1:2. The age range of patients was 2 years to 86 years with a mean age of 46.12±18.56 years. Seventy-five (27.1%) smears contained malignant cells; 34 (12.3%) were suspicious for malignancy, 92(33.2%) were negative for malignant cells and 76 (27.4%) of aspirates were categorized as unsatisfactory Conclusion: Ascitic fluid cytology (AFC) is a useful, rapid, diagnostic tool. The technical skills tend to improve and errors tend to diminish as the method is increasingly utilized