DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i06.003

Pages: 2047-2051

Acute Leukemia accounts for approx 0.15-0.60% of total medical admissions in hospitals in India. It is still diagnosed mainly on the basis of morphology and cytochemistry in many centres, because of its ease and it remains the pillar of diagnosis where flow cytometry is not available. In our present study, the aim is to evaluate the positivity of special stains Periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Sudan Black B (SBB) in peripheral blood smear and bone marrow aspirate, correlate the results with the final results obtained through flow cytometry, and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of these special stains in the diagnosis of acute Leukemia. We included 343 new cases of acute leukemias in which morphological diagnosis using special stains has been made and primary and secondary markers have been applied for immuno phenotyping and a definitive diagnosis was made. We analysed the sensitivity and specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of the special stains in establishing the diagnosis of acute leukemia. SUDAN BLACK (SBB) was positive in 72.7% cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and negative in 27.3% cases. PAS was positive in only 28% of cases of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and it was negative in 72% cases in our study. Morphology plus cytochemical staining with PAS and SBB was able to correctly diagnose 93.38% cases of AML. PAS stain was positive in only 27.4% cases of ALL.