Normal Saline Rehydration Technique or Carnoy's Solution - What to Choose for Hemorrhagic Fluid Cytology

It is not uncommon to receive hemorrhagic fluids for cytological examination. The red blood cells impair diagnostic efficacy of smears. The body fluid can be processed in many ways- NSRT (Normal saline rehydration technique) is one such technique. The present study was done to evaluate quality of smears prepared by NSRT and Carnoy�s fixation. The smears were stained by Hematoxylin& Eosin and Leishman stain. The smears were analyzed for nuclear, cytoplasmic, background and quantity of cells. Scores were given from 0 to2. A total of 30 hemorrhagic fluids were taken. NSSRT showed better cell lysis and better background in comparison to Carnoy�s fixative on Hematoxylin& Eosin stain and also on Leishman stain. Hematoxylin& Eosin was better than Carnoy�s fixative technique. NSRT is better technique as it is simple, cost-effective and faster than Carnoy�s technique for hemorrhagic fluids.