Use of Conventional Smears Versus Liquid-Based Preparations for Fine-Needle Aspirate Specimens: The Time Has Not Come to Abandon Your Conventional Smears!

摘要

There is a longstanding controversy about the use of conventional smears (CSs) versus liquid-based preparations (LBPs) for thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA) specimens, and recently, there has been the suggestion that LBPs alone might be a good strategy for all FNAs. This is an unfortunate, and in my opinion, very misguided proposal on multiple levels. Although LBPs have certain redeeming qualities such as reducing the number of slides that the cytologist and cytotechnologist need to evaluate, when used alone for FNA evaluation, they can also reduce the overall amount of cytomorphologic information readily available to the cytopathologist to make a well-informed diagnosis. Use of an LB-only approach, in many instances, is analogous to reading Cliffs Notes instead of the full novel: certainly, it is less material to review but useful information may be missing! A lack of quality FNA sample procurement secondary to poor FNA technique, and a lack of good smear preparation skills, should not be the rationale for adoption of an LB-only approach and abandonment of CSs, but unfortunately, in many cases, it is.