A Comparative Study of Touch Imprint and Crush Cytology with Histopathology in Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Biopsies.

Background: Touch imprint and crush cytology are simple, rapid, and cost-effective methods to distinguish between benign and malignant lesions, particularly in sentinel lymph nodes, ovarian neoplasms, and central nervous system tumors. This study was undertaken to assess the utility of imprint and crush cytology in making the diagnosis of both malignant as well as non-neoplastic diseases of the upper gastrointestinal (UGI) tract and compare the results with corresponding histopathology.

Materials and methods: The study was conducted on patients who underwent UGI endoscopic biopsies over a period of 1.5 years. Touch imprints and crush smears were prepared for each case and stained with Giemsa and Papanicolaou stains. The cytology results were compared with the corresponding histopathology.

Results: The overall sensitivity and specificity of imprint and crush cytology when compared to histopathology were found to be 95.7% and 98.8%, respectively. For Helicobacter pylori infection, the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of cytology were 71.4%, 99%, and 97.19%, respectively. Both crush and imprint smears had similar efficacy in rendering the cytological diagnosis.

Conclusion: Imprint/crush smear cytology is a valuable complement to histopathology in UGI endoscopic biopsies. Evaluation of biopsy adequacy, distinguishing between malignant and benign lesions, and diagnosing specific infections such as H. pylori, Candia, and Herpes simplex virus are reliably possible on impression cytology.