Varghese R, Raghuveer C V, Pai M R, Bansal R
Department of Pathology, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.
Acta Cytol. 1996 Mar-Apr;40(2):299-301. doi: 10.1159/000333755.
Filariasis is a major public health problem in tropical countries, including India. Despite this high incidence, it is unusual to find microfilariae in fine needle aspiration cytology. (FNAC) smears and body fluids. Six cases of filariasis diagnosed by FNAC are reported.
In case 1, a thyroid aspirate from a 23-year-old female showed a microfilaria with colloid and thyroid follicular cells. In case 2, pericardial fluid from a 50-year-old male with breathlessness and chest pain showed clusters of malignant cells and many microfilariae. In case 3, a bronchial aspirate from a 55-year-old male with fever and chest pain showed aggregates of acute inflammatory cells and a microfilaria. Cases 4 and 5 were lymph node aspirates from a 29-year-old male and 3-year-old female. Both smears showed microfilariae in a background of reactive lymphoid cells. In case 6, FNAC from a 21-year-old female with a cystic swelling in the breast showed clusters of microfilariae, lymphocytes and granular debris.
In three of the six cases microfilariae were the cause of symptoms, whereas in the other three cases, microfilariae were associated with other diseases, including malignancy. Thus, careful screening of FNAC smears might be helpful in detecting microfilariae, even in asymptomatic patients.
丝虫病是包括印度在内的热带国家的一个主要公共卫生问题。尽管发病率很高，但在细针穿刺细胞学检查（FNAC）涂片和体液中发现微丝蚴并不常见。本文报告了6例经FNAC诊断的丝虫病病例。
病例1，一名23岁女性的甲状腺穿刺物显示有一条微丝蚴，伴有胶体和甲状腺滤泡细胞。病例2，一名50岁男性因呼吸困难和胸痛抽取的心包积液显示有恶性细胞簇和许多微丝蚴。病例3，一名55岁男性因发热和胸痛进行的支气管穿刺物显示有急性炎症细胞聚集和一条微丝蚴。病例4和病例5是一名29岁男性和一名3岁女性的淋巴结穿刺物。两张涂片在反应性淋巴细胞背景中均显示有微丝蚴。病例6，一名21岁女性乳房囊性肿胀的FNAC显示有微丝蚴簇、淋巴细胞和颗粒状碎片。
在6例病例中，3例微丝蚴是症状的病因，而在其他3例中，微丝蚴与包括恶性肿瘤在内的其他疾病相关。因此，即使对无症状患者，仔细筛查FNAC涂片可能有助于检测微丝蚴。
