Cell-block in EUS Guided FNA-Best method in a Resource Constraint Setting?

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) cytology is an emerging imaging modality used in the histological diagnosis of gastero-enterico-pancreatic lesions. The diagnostic efficacy of EUS-FNA depends on the expertise of gastroenterologist as well as on cytopathologists expertise. On site Diff stained smears have been widely used in EUS FNA’s for increasing the diagnostic yield. The diagnostic accuracy can further be enhanced by taking material for cell block and confirming findings with immunohistochemical stains. Several methods of cell block preparations have been reported in literature; however there has always been a search for easy cell block preparation procedure. We conducted this study to standardize the methodology of cell block preparation in our laboratory and to prospectively analyze the utility of these cell blocks in diagnosing EUS cytology cases.