Until now commercially available syringe holders for fine-needle aspiration
(FNA) were designed to be held in a pistol-grip manner A newly developed,
pencil-grip syringe holder the Tao Aspirator(TM), was tested. The device is
equipped with a release button for automatically drawing back the syringe
plunger and a regulating knob for adjusting negative pressure for the aspir
ation. After direct smears were made for on-site examination, the remaining
aspirated material was collected by rinsing the needle and syringe with Cy
toRich red fixative. Hettich cytocentrifuge preparations were then prepared
. The quality of the first 150 FNA specimens procured by this device and pr
epared with liquid fixation was evaluated in terms of adequacy of specimen,
amount of obscuring blood preservation of cells, and ease of screening and
interpretation. These 150 specimens included 32 from thyroids; 34 from bre
asts; 40 from lymph nodes; 24 from subcutaneous nodules; and 20 from saliva
ry glands. There were no unsatisfactory specimens. In Hettich preparations,
red blood cells were lysed making interpretation easier All cellular eleme
nts and tissue fragments were adequately fixed, showing excellent cellular
morphology. Specimens fixed in liquid fixative yielded uniform cell suspens
ions, resulting in cytocentrifuge preparations with evenly distributed cell
s, and so the screening was also easier: The aspiration techniques using pi
stol-grip and pencil-grip FNA syringe holders were also compared in terms o
f control in tissue sampling, ease of use, and safety The pencil-grip syrin
ge holder allowed greater tactile sensation of the texture of the lesion, a
nd enabled the operator to use a single hand to place a needle into a targe
t lesion with minimal error This device placed the hand relatively close to
the needle rip while the hand was in a position of natural function, impar
ting more control in tissue sampling, It was more easily manipulated and co
uld prevent dripping when cystic fluid was aspirated. Specimen collection u
sing the Tao Aspirator(TM) and processing with liquid fixation in addition
to direct smear preparations allowed the laboratory to consistently produce
adequate cytologic preparations and cell blocks. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.