Introduction: Immediate fixation of smears in 95% alcohol for Pap-staining is commonly used for cytopathological diagnosis of cancers and other diseases. Few research has investigated the comparative outcomes of alcohol wet-fixation and rehydration of air-dried smears, indicating that rehydration of air-dried smears are viable alternative to wet-fixed smears. However, there is no or little investigations on the effects of long duration of air-drying fixation on cytomorphological staining quality. Materials and Methods: 124 cervical smears were obtained from Family Planning Unit of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Quadruple smears were wet-fixed (WF), and air-dried for 2 hours, 4 hours and 8 hours prior to rehydration with normal saline and fixation (ARF). All the smears were stained with Papanicolaou-stain, examined microscopically for their cytomorphological features and scored. Cytomorphological scores were statistically analyzed SPSS software. Results: No significant difference in cytolysis, cell border, nuclear border, chromatin and cellularity between WF and ARF was observed. However, significant differences in cytoplasmic staining quality (p-value < 0.001) and the absence of RBCs (p-value < 0.001) were observed in the 4 hour ARF. The absence of RBCs in the ARF smears rendered a clearer background than in the wet fixation. Conclusions: ARF, Pap-stained smears showed comparably superior cytomorphological features to that of WF smears. The 8-hour ARF smears produce crispy chromatin and excellent background, making suitable for bloody cytological samples.

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S. Karger AG, Basel
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2023

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