Lymphoid-rich effusions. Diagnosis by morphometry using the CAS 200 System.

Lymphoid-rich effusions frequently present diagnostic problems in clinical cytology. In the authors' previous studies, most lymphoid-rich effusions had been correctly classified as benign lymphocytosis or malignant lymphoma by an experimental computerized interactive morphometry system, in which randomly selected lymphoid nuclear profile images were measured in Papanicolaou fixed and stained cytospin smears. The present study used the CAS 200 System and criteria from the previously described rule-based expert system to classify similar preparations of 134 lymphoid rich pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial effusions (90 benign lymphocytoses, 36 malignant lymphomas, and 8 chronic lymphocytic leukemias). A total of 98.9% of the benign lymphocytoses and 88.9% of the malignant lymphomas were correctly classified (predictive values of correct diagnoses 95.7% and 97.3%, respectively). Chronic lymphocytic leukemias could not be distinguished from benign lymphocytoses by nuclear profile areas. Optical density histograms of benign, lymphomatous, and chronic lymphocytic leukemias effusions are described. Advantages and limitations of image analysis and immunocytochemistry are discussed.