Standardized cytopathology reporting of fluids using newly proposed international system for reporting serous fluid cytology - A single institutional experience

Background: Serous fluids are commonly produced in many disease conditions and it is relatively easy to collect it. Subjecting it to analysis will help identify the etiology of the disease process and thereby help the clinicians to plan the treatment strategy appropriately. The application of the international system for reporting serous fluid cytology will further make it easy for the clinicians with its simpler terminologies and clear categorization of entities. Materials and method: All effusion samples that were received from 2020 to 2022 were examined and categorized according to international system for reporting serous fluid cytology. Risk of malignancy (ROM) was also calculated. Results: Among 400 cases, 140 (35%) were pleural fluid, 260 (65%) were ascitic fluid. Among 140 pleural fluid, 8 (5.7%) were ND, 121 (86.4%) were NFM, 2 (1.4%) were AUS, 5(3.6%) were SFM and 4 (2.9%) were MAL. Among the 260 peritoneal fluid, 13 (5%), 226 (86.9%), 9 (3.5%), 9 (3.5%), and 3 (1.1%) were reported as ND, NFM, AUS, SFM and MAL respectively. Risk of Malignancy (ROM) calculated for the cases collected in this study were 0% for ND, 0.9% for NFM, 45.5% for AUS, 71.4% for SFM and 100% for MAL. Conclusion: The international system (TIS) for reporting serous fluid cytopathology is very easy to employ and gives high accuracy with clear diagnostic criteria for each category, hence makes it easy to communicate with the clinicians by employing simple terminologies.