CYTOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF SUSPECTED TUBERCULAR LYMPHADENOPATHY AND ITS CORRELATION WITH ZIEHL-NEELSON (ZN) STAIN AND CARTRIDGE-BASED NUCLEIC ACID AMPLIFICATION TEST (CBNAAT) AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTER

Background: India has the highest burden of tuberculosis in world(26%) with an estimated incidence of 26.9 lakh cases in 2019.Cytomorphology has denitive role in diagnosing tubercular lymphadenopathy however ancillary techniques like Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplication Test(CBNAAT) and Ziehl-Neelson(ZN) stain can help in conrmation of the same.CBNAAT(The GeneXpert polymerase chain reaction test) is capable of diagnosing Tuberculosis within 2 hours.So, it is a promising tool.The present study was done to assess role of CBNAAT in early diagnosis of Tubercular Lymphadenopathy in addition to cytomorphological features on Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) and ZN staining. Present st Methods: udy is an observational cross-sectional study of 50 cases of clinically suspected tubercular lymphadenopathy,which were sent to department of pathology for FNAC.After procedure of Flashers were prepared and stained with routine H&E,Giemsa,Papanicolaou stain and ZN stain.In same setting,aspirate was also sent for CBNAAT.Results were obtained after detailed study. Out of 50 cases,tuberculosi Results: s was diagnosed in 28 cases based on morphology,ZN staining or CBNAAT. Overall,21(42%) cases were positive for tuberculosis on morphology,14(28%) cases were positive by ZN stain and 25(50%) cases were CBNAAT positive.Sensitivity of diagnosis of tuberculosis was 89% by CBNAAT alone,75% by FNAC alone,50% by ZN stain alone and 100% by FNAC and CBNAAT combined. FNAC is the cheapest and si Conclusion: mplest method to diagnose Tuberculosis of Lymph node.However, cytomorphological examination of tuberculosis in association with CBNAAT is more sensitive in early diagnosis and appropriate management,thereby reducing overall burden of tuberculosis in the country.