Recent trends in diagnostic techniques for inflammatory bowel disease

Although ileocolonoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and is useful for assessing the disease severity in the colon and terminal ileum, several alternative diagnostic techniques have been developed recently. For ulcerative colitis (UC), magnification colonoscopy, endocytoscopy, and confocal laser endomicroscopy enable assessment of histological inflammation without the need for biopsy. Capsule endoscopy is useful for detection of small intestinal and colonic lesions in both female and male patients. For UC, capsule endoscopy may be useful for evaluating colonic inflammation in patients with a previous poor colonoscopy experience, while it should be used only in Crohn's disease (CD) patients with unexplained symptoms when other examinations are negative. Magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) is particularly useful for detecting transmural inflammation, stenosis, and extraintestinal lesions, including abscesses and fistulas. MRE is also useful when evaluating small and large intestinal lesions, even in cases with severe strictures in which full evaluation of the small bowel would be virtually impossible using other devices. Therefore, the appropriate diagnostic devices for detecting CD lesions in the small and large intestine should be used.

Estudo comparativo de raspados orais submetidos à técnica de citologia em meio líquido e citopatologia convencional / Comparative study of oral smears applying liquid-based cytology and conventional cytopathology

INTRODUÇÃO: Quando comparada à técnica da citopatologia convencional (CC), a citologia em meio líquido (LBC) tem sido referida como método de desempenho superior em esfregaços cervicouterinos. OBJETIVO: Comparar (quantitativa e qualitativamente) esfregaços orais preparados por meio da citopatologia convencional e da LBC. Material e métodos: Foram realizados raspados em borda lateral da língua de seis indivíduos com mucosa oral de aspecto clínico normal, e testados três instrumentos de coleta: escova endocervical (cytobrush), espátula plástica e escova contida no kit da citologia em meio líquido utilizado no estudo, sendo os esfregaços submetidos à citopatologia convencional e à LBC. RESULTADOS: A escova endocervical mostrou-se mais adequada para coleta e quanto ao método, a LBC forneceu lâminas com distribuição celular mais regular e homogênea do que a citopatologia convencional. Notou-se ainda redução da quantidade de células inflamatórias e de colônias de bactérias. DISCUSSÃO: Mesmo em menor quantidade, a sobreposição celular não foi totalmente eliminada na LBC como a literatura relata, pois estava presente em algumas lâminas. Embora em amostras cervicouterinas a redução de células inflamatórias, de hemácias e de muco seja considerada uma vantagem da LBC, nos raspados orais muitas vezes esses elementos compõem aspectos significativos de determinada doença. CONCLUSÕES: A citologia em meio líquido pode ser uma nova técnica a ser somada aos exames auxiliares de diagnóstico oral, mas, apesar de apresentar alguns resultados favoráveis, ainda são necessárias adaptações ao utilizá-la no diagnóstico oral.

INTRODUCTION: When compared to conventional cytopathology (CC), liquid-based cytology (LBC) has been referred to as a method of superior performance in cervical smears. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively and qualitatively compare oral smears obtained through conventional cytopathology and liquid medium cytology. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six individuals with normal oral mucosa had the lateral border of their tongues scraped. Three collecting instruments were tested in this process: endocervical brush (cytobrush), a plastic spatula, and the LBC kit brush. Both methods, CC and LBC, were applied. Results: The endocervical brush was the most appropriate collecting instrument; as far as method is concerned, liquid medium cytology provided slides with more regular and homogeneous cellular distribution in comparison to conventional cytopathology. There was also a reduction in the number of inflammatory cells and bacteria colonies. DISCUSSION: Cellular overlapping was not totally eliminated in the liquid medium cytology as reported in medical literature, inasmuch as it was present in some slides, though in a smaller amount. Although in cervical samples the reduction of inflammatory cells, erythrocytes and mucus is considered an advantage of LBC, in oral smears these elements may represent significant aspects of some oral diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Liquid-based cytology may be an additional technique to be used with complementary exams in oral diagnosis, but despite the fact it presents some favorable results some adaptations are still necessary for its use in oral diagnosis.

Citología de base líquida: revisión de la historia y los estudios al respecto / Liquid based-cytology: review of the history and the studies on the matter

George Nicolas Papanicolaou introdujo la citología diagnóstica de frotis vaginal en 1940, técnica de tamizaje de bajo costo y de aplicación masiva. Donde se implementó, ha permitido aumentar la detección del cáncer cérvico uterino en etapas precoces y de lesiones premalignas, reduciendo significativamente la mortalidad por esta causa. El frotis tecnificado, de alto costo, en teoría resuelve los cinco problemas de la convencional: 1) captura de la totalidad de la muestra, 2) fijación deficiente, 3) distribución aleatoria de células anómalas, 4) existencia de elementos perturbadores, 5) calidad del frotis. Estudios en grandes poblaciones no evidencian diferencias significativas en su capacidad diagnóstica comparados con la citología convencional que permitan sugerir su uso en el sistema público de salud.

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Jordon: a ten year retrospective cytoepidemiologic study

Occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN] was studied in 10,659 females attending obstetric and gynecology clinics in Jordan. The frequency rate of intraepithelial neoplasia was 1.1% in 7743 Jordanian females and 2916 non-Jordanian residents of younger age during the period from 1982 to 1991 inclusive. The incidence rate in 2649 Jordanian females, selected because they attended only for routine checkup, was 49 per 100,000. There were 121 CIN cases which were graded into Grade I [21%], II [48%] and III [31%] respectively. Histological grading correlated with cytology in 70% of the cases while in the remaining 30%, cytologic underrating by one grade was noted; evidence against any overdiagnosis of CIN in our series.Study of the human papillomavirus [HPV] was outside the scope of this effort. However, circumcision in male partners and marital status were associated with a lower frequency of CIN.Age at marriage and average duration, parity, breast feeding, the contraceptive pill, socioeconomic status and menstrual disorders showed no relationship to the frequency of CIN in our patients. Any differences in the latter between Jordanian and non-Jordanian females are believed due to cultural factors. Conization in 27 cases proved effective at 30 months' follow-up. Occurrence of CIN in Jordanian females appears substantial although much lower than that seen in high incidence zones, while its incidence in the general female population remains to be determined. This study shows for the first time the value of Papanicolaou [Pap] smears in Jordanian females over 20 years of age with special emphasis on those over 35 years of age attending obstetric and gynecology clinics