CATEGORIZATION OF PLEURAL EFFUSION SPECIMEN ON THE BASIS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM FOR REPORTING SEROUS FLUID CYTOPATHOLOGY: AN INSTITUTIONAL EXPERIENCE

Background:The International System for Reporting Serous Fluid Cytology (ISRSFC) has been proposed to systemize serous fluid cytopathology reporting and to guide for further clinical management. The present study focused on assessing the feasibility of utilizing ISRSFC reporting categories for pleural fluids, estimating the risk of malignancy (ROM) of each category. Methods: Samples of Pleural effusion sent to cytopathology lab in our institution were evaluated. Cases were categorized into one of the five categories proposed by ISRSFC: Non-diagnostic (ND), Negative for malignancy (NFM), Atypia of undetermined significance (AUS), Suspicious for malignancy (SFM), and Malignant (MAL) respectively. ROM was calculated for each category. Result: The present study examined 200 Pleural effusion samples. The Pleural effusion samples were categorized as ND 10 (5%), NFM 160 (80%), AUS 12 (6%), SFM 06 (3%) and MAL 12 (6%), and ROM for each above category were 12.5%, 3.3%, 25%, 75% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: The ISRSFC for categorizing pleural effusion cytology sample is easy to use and reduces reporting diversity. ROM assessment for each category improves the quality of clinical care.