CYTOLOGY OF CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID WITH LOW CELL COUNT - QUANTITATIVE COMPARISON OF 2 PREPARATIVE METHODS

Background: Preparations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with low cell co ntent by cytocentrifuge or by sedimentation on adhesion slides were co mpared with respect to the yield of cytologically evaluable cells. Met hod: We used a CSF model the cell content of which can be arbitrarily chosen, as well as 14 samples of routine spinal taps with cell counts of 0-3 cells/mul. In addition, 102 CSF samples from children with mali gnant disorders were prepared solely on adhesion slides. Results: In t he samples of the CSF model, the recovery of a total of 2000 and 200 c ells was 28% and 25% on adhesion slides vs. 10% for both on cytocentri fuge preparations. From the lumbar puncture samples, 59 cells (median; 13-322) could be counted on adhesion slides with good cytomorphology, whereas only 2/14 cytocentrifuge slides prepared from identical mater ial yielded any cells at all. From children with malignant diseases, 7 3 out of 102 routine CSF samples contained less than 10 cells/mul, on the adhesion slides of 14 of those 73 samples malignant cells were ide ntified. Conclusion: The preparation on adhesion slides is superior to cytocentrifugation when processing CSF samples with low cell counts. The method has proven useful in the pediatric-oncologic routine. Its v alue lies in a sensitive diagnosis and follow-up of CNS involvement in malignant disorders.