Comparison of Modified Ultrafast Giemsa Stain with the Standard May Grunwald Giemsa Stain in FNAC of Various Organs

BACKGROUND: The May-Grünwald Giemsa Stain is one of the preferred Romanwsky stains in studying cell morphology of air-dried smears with respect to cellular and nuclear size details and metachromatic extracellular ground with an approximate staining time of 20–30 min. A reduction in staining time and possible application of an ultrafast stain for rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE) of cytological material is the need of the hour. With the application of the new modified ultrafast Giemsa (MUFG) technique, rapid staining can be achieved, thereby helping in triaging of samples and, most importantly, providing an early preliminary diagnosis. AIMS: The aim is to assess the quality index of the MUFG technique in FNAC of various organs in comparison with the standard MGG stain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 61 FNAC cases were studied by random sampling. Two smears were prepared for each case and stained by both. Scores were given based on five parameters, and the quality index was calculated. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Results were analyzed using mean, median, standard deviation, “t” paired test, “P” value, and M-diff for statistical significance. RESULTS: The quality index of MUFG smears was comparable to the standard MGG stain in salivary gland, breast, and thyroid aspirates and low in lymph node and soft tissue aspirates. MUFG is a rapid cost-effective stain which can be applied in the setting of ROSE for a preliminary diagnosis. CONCLUSION: MUFG is a reliable alternative and rapid technique for cytology diagnosis.