Iranian Journal of Pathology

Evaluating the Diagnostic Accuracy of Impression Cytology for Conjunctival Lesions: A Comparative Study with Histopathology

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Fatemeh Eslami 1
Hamidreza Ghasemibasir 2
Sara Alipour 3
Ramin Mansouri 3

1 Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

2 Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

3 Student Research Committee, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30699/ijp.2024.2025786.3284
Abstract
Background & Objective: Conjunctival lesions have a wide range of histological manifestations that are difficult to distinguish clinically. The gold standard for diagnosis of these lesions is the pathological examination, a costly and invasive procedure that may also adversely affect patients. Therefore, clinical researchers seek less invasive, inexpensive, and easier methods to detect conjunctival lesions. This study aims to compare the accuracy of impression cytology with pathology in patients referred to Farshchian Hospital in Iran.
Methods: In this descriptive/cross-sectional study, 64 patients with conjunctival lesions were selected from patients referred to Farshchian Hospital in Hamedan in 2021. A cytology specimen was obtained from the patients and sent to the laboratory. The diagnostic accuracy of this method was compared with pathological results (gold standard). Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software.
Results: The mean age of patients was 54.47 ±16.94 years; 70.3% were male, and 29.7% were female. In the cytologic and pathologic examination, 28.1% of the specimens showed dysplasia, and 71.9% were non-dysplastic. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the cytologic impression compared to the pathologic methods were 91.30%, 77.78%, 91.30%, 77.78%, and 87.5%, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between pathological and cytological diagnosis scores (r=0.825, P-value<0.001).
Conclusion: In conjunctival lesions, impression cytology may be  a relatively accurate and sensitive procedure that can distinguish  dysplastic from  non-dysplastic conjunctival lesions.

Highlights

  • Impression cytology is a non- or minimally invasive biopsy technique that can be applied to the conjunctiva, cornea, and limbal area for both diagnosis and follow-up after treatment of tumors.
  • a positive and significant correlation was observed between pathological and cytological diagnosis scores in conjunctival lesions.
  • In conjunctival lesions, impression cytology is a relatively accurate and sensitive procedure that can distinguish between dysplastic and non-dysplastic conjunctival lesions.

Keywords

Conjunctival lesions
Impression cytology
Pathology

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Pathology
Volume 20, Issue 1
Winter 2025
Pages 49-57

  • Receive Date 10 April 2024
  • Revise Date 09 August 2024
  • Accept Date 03 September 2024

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