Evaluation of Incidence and Diagnostic Accuracy of Squash Cytology with Histopathology of Various CNS Lesions

Abstract

Background: Central nervous system lesions continue to be one of the most diverse and difficult to research for neuropathologists. Accurate assessment of the damaged tissue is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Historically, the "squash" or "crush" approach has been used for intraoperative diagnosis of CNS tumours. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of squash preparation for diagnosing central nervous system tumours in comparison to histology. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, sixty neuropathological samples were analysed. During the proper surgical process, fresh tissue samples of 0.5-1mm2 were taken and submitted for squash cytology. There were supposedly frozen and squash samples. Fast staining and paraffin-embedded tissue staining were both used to create cytology smears from squash; the results of these smears were reported, and they were correlated with slides from the histopathology lab. Squash cytology tumour grade was correlated with histopathology tumour grading. Results: CNS Neoplasms were found in 58 out of 60 patients (96.6 percent). Meningiomas, schwannomas, and small round cell tumours were also common cytological diagnosis alongside gliomas. There was a connection between the cytological and histological findings. The overall diagnosis accuracy of cytology for squash was 93%. Between the ages of 40 and 50, people had the highest prevalence of central nervous system lesions. Conclusion: Squash smear cytology is an effective and rapid stand-alone diagnostic procedure that can help surgeons make judgments regarding intracranial lesions during surgery when a frozen section facility is not available.