The application of toluidine blue staining in non-gynecologic cytology.

The diagnostic accuracy of the toluidine blue stain approximates that of the Papanicolaou stain in non-gynecologic cytology. In this study a sensitivity of 95.3 and 96.9 per cent was achieved by used of the toluidine blue and Papanicolaou stains respectively. The specificity for both stains was identical at 96.3 per cent. Given the high degree of accuracy achieved with the toluidine blue stain in this study, and given its numerous advantages over the Papanicolaou stain, it is suggested that consideration be given to using the toluidine blue stain routinely in non-gynecologic cytology to differentiate malignancy from benignancy.