ABSTRACT

Cytologic evaluation of a high quality sample from the respiratory tract can, together with history, clinical data and imaging, provide invaluable diagnostic information towards patient management. A thorough visual inspection of the nasal cavity through endoscopy, as well as radiographic localization of the lesion(s), should be performed prior to obtaining samples for cytologic examination. A cytobrush or endoscopic brush can be used to collect tissue to roll on a clean glass slide for cytologic examination; however, brush cytology often misses the deeper inflammatory cells and may not correlate with histologic findings. Adenocarcinomas are cytologically characterized by the presence of small aggregates to large sheets of neoplastic epithelial cells. Normal cytologic findings for Transtracheal wash and bronchoalveolar lavage include a small amount of mucus, low numbers of columnar or cuboidal epithelial cells, goblet cells, alveolar macrophages, and neutrophils , occasional lymphocytes, and superficial squamous cells.