Value of direct smears of synovial fluid in the diagnosis of canine joint disease

Assessments of direct smears of synovial fluid by four clinicians were comp ared with the results obtained with a Coulter counter. Estimates of total w hite cell counts by the clinicians were inaccurate and generally higher tha n the Coulter counter results. The method had a low sensitivity and specifi city for the identification of degenerative joint disease and normal joints in comparison with the identification of inflammatory joint disease. There were marked variations in the results obtained by the four clinicians for all the analyses in the study.