Vaginal cytology is a useful diagnostic technique due to its simplicity and ability to obtain results quickly. The main reason to obtain a vaginal smear is to distinguish the stages of the ovarian cycle in bitches. Evaluation of the sample is usually done by means of a Diff-Quick (DQ) staining. In clinical practice, differentiation between cornified or keratinized cells and non-keratinized cells by using this coloration method is not always straight forward. The Harris-Shorr (HS) stain, however, is able to differentiate cells containing keratin precursors from other cell types by marking them red, but is cumbersome to perform. In this study, a new, simplified version of this Harris-Shoff stain was compared with the conventional Diff-Quick method. A positive correlation was found between the cornified cells (DQ) on the one hand and the sum of the completely red cells and >50% red cells (HS) on the other hand (r(s) (72) = 0.574 (p < 0.001) ). As a result, this modified Harris-Shorr stain can provide added value in practical conditions.
展开▼
