Cytopathological Diagnosis of Herpes Simplex Viral Mastitis: Three Rare Cases and a Review of the Literature

CONTEXT: Virus infection has a unique morphological change in cell pathology. It is also of great significance in the diagnosis of herpes simplex mastitis. AIMS: To evaluate the practicability and feasibility of cytological diagnosis of herpes simplex virus mastitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three cases of HSV mastitis diagnosed by cytology smears were collected. The papules were stained with Wright-Giemsa to observe the morphological characteristics of the cells. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The cytological characteristics of 3 cases were summarized and compared with the literature. RESULTS: In the background of inflammatory cells in the smear, the cells with characteristic changes can be seen in the mass and scattered distribution. The nuclear size increased significantly, and mononuclear, binuclear, trinuclear and multinuclear nuclei appeared. The nuclei of multinuclear were crowded and mosaic. The chromatin of nucleus changed like frosted glass, and the chromatin became thicker at the edge of nucleus. Inclusion bodies were found in the nucleus, eosinophilic, with different sizes and irregular shapes. These characteristics are helpful to distinguish from other lesions. CONCLUSION: Scraper cytology is a diagnostic tool with simple operation, small trauma and pain, and it has important application value in the differential diagnosis of HSV infection, which deserves the attention of clinicians.