[Cytology by gastric washing in the diagnosis of gastric neoplasms].

A prospective and comparative study between the citology obtained through gastric washing and endoscopic (biopsy and brushing) for the diagnostic of the gastric neoplasias was carried at the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Médico La Raza. Twenty one patients with benign gastric ulcer and 18 patients with gastric neoplasia (Two lymphomas and 16 adenocarcinomas) which we checked through surgery, necropsy or clinic evolution were studied. From 21 cases of gastric ulcer, the washing produced enough material for diagnosis in 17 of them (81%); in 16 of these neoplasia was excluded (94.1%) with false positive (5.9%). The endoscopic regained 100% of useful material and in a 100% ignored neoplasia. From 18 neoplasia cases, gastric washing produced material for 14 of them (77.8%); in 10 of these (71.4%) it made a diagnostic with 4 false negatives (28.6%); Endoscopic collected material in a 100% and the accuracy diagnostic was of 17 (94.4%) with one false negative (5.6%). Gastric washing has a high index of uselless for diagnostic from 39 samples, 8 were useless and from these, autolisis was the mein cause. Citology through gastric washing is usefull for neoplasm diagnosis in those cases in which endoscopy would be contraindicated or in those in which it is absent.