Cholemic Nephrosis: An Autopsy Study of a Forgotten Entity

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to do a clinicopathologic study of post mortem kidney biopsies with significant deposition of bilirubin pigment within tubular epithelial cells and in the lumen of distal tubules as a bile cast.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

All post mortem specimens with acute tubular necrosis, with the presence of bile casts in tubules or bile pigment deposition in the tubular epithelium during the period 2015-2018 were examined for gross and histopathology along with biochemical parameters and viral markers.

RESULTS

Bile casts with sloughed renal tubular epithelial cells and occasional macrophages were present in the distal convoluted tubule in 78.6% of biopsies (11/14). The plugging of distal convoluted tubule with casts was similar to that seen in myeloma and myoglobin cast nephropathies. Bilirubin pigment deposition was present in 35.7% (5/14) of cases. The frequency of bile casts in each biopsy was variable and it did not have any association with serum bilirubin levels or etiology of liver dysfunction. A striking difference from earlier studies is the high number of toxin-induced liver damage including six cases of paraquat and 2 cases of yellow phosphorus poisoning.

CONCLUSION

This study proves importance of the bile cast nephropathy as a reason for kidney injury, especially with varied hepatotoxic etiologies, especially paraquat and yellow phosphorus.

Malignant phyllodes tumor with liposarcomatous differentiation: Diagnosed on cytology

Phyllodes tumor (PT) accounts for less than 1% of all primary tumors of the breast and 2% to 3% of all fibroepithelial lesions. We report a case of heterologous liposarcomatous elements in a malignant PT of the breast on Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and later confirmed by histopathological examination. A 58-years-old woman presented with a huge breast mass for which FNAC was done. Cytology showed features of malignant PT with a good representation of heterologous liposarcomatous areas. The cytological findings were in concordance with the histologic features. Malignant PT and its various heterologous elements of stroma can be diagnosed on FNA cytology when performed optimally. They can be vital for the preoperative assessment of patients suspected with malignancy to formulate the surgical plan accordingly.

Malignant Epithelioid Soft Tissue Tumours- A Pathologist's Perspective With Review of Literature

Background Soft tissue tumours with epithelioid morphology have many differential diagnoses, which include epithelioid sarcoma, malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumour, epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, epithelioid leiomyosarcoma, epithelioid angiosarcoma and sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma. There are other rare entities also. They often express characteristic patterns of immunohistochemical markers that can be used to identify these tumours. Materials and methods This retrospective study comprises 22 cases of malignant soft tissue tumours with epithelioid differentiation diagnosed over a period of four years. Findings regarding clinical presentation, cytological findings, histopathological findings and immunohistochemical profile of the tumours were noted and analyzed. Results A total of 22 cases were included in the study including five cases of epithelioid sarcoma (conventional and proximal), three cases of epithelioid angiosarcoma and epithelioid myxofibrosarcoma, two cases of epithelioid malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, epithelioid gastrointestinal stromal tumour and clear cell sarcoma each, one case of epithelioid leiomyosarcoma, sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma, malignant extrarenal rhabdoid tumour, monophasic synovial sarcoma and malignant and malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumour each. Conclusion Pathologists should be aware of the various differential diagnoses of soft tissue tumours with epithelioid morphology. Over and above the clinical findings and morphological features, ancillary methods like immunohistochemistry help to arrive at a definitive diagnosis in most cases.

The utility of fine needle aspiration cytology in orbital haematolymphoid neoplasms

BACKGROUND

Orbital hematolymphoid lesions are rare and usually encountered in elderly patients. Orbital lesions are not easy to biopsy: hence fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) can be a very good diagnostic modality for these lesions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cases of orbital masses subjected to FNAC dating from 2013 to 2020 were retrieved from our archives. A total of 16 cases with biopsy confirmation were included. All clinical details, the type of procedure, details of the immunocytochemistry (ICC) performed on smear, follow-up biopsy, and their haematological work-up were analysed in detail.

RESULTS

Sixteen biopsy-confirmed cases had been diagnosed as orbital haematolymphoid lesions on cytomorphology and further categorised with ancillary studies including ICC. In twelve instances, the cytology impression was congruent with the histopathological diagnosis and eight of the sixteen cases (50%) proved to be primary orbital lymphoma. Four were secondary orbital lymphomas and the remaining four included one case each of plasmacytoma, myeloid sarcoma, Rosai-Dorfman disease and angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia.

CONCLUSION

FNAC is a minimally invasive procedure for diagnosing most of the haematolymphoid orbital lesions and it has a rapid turnaround time. The accuracy of cytomorphology combined with ICC on smears/cell blocks can be as good as a biopsy for exact categorisation. Additionally, aspirate smears are preferred samples for cytogenetics compared to formalin-fixed tissue blocks, as molecular cytogenetics techniques are frequently employed for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic purposes.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of breast, pleura, and retroperitoneum diagnosed from pleural fluid cytology

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) is a malignant small blue round cell tumor which is commonly seen in head and neck region. Breast and pleural involvement are uncommon. Rhabdomyosarcoma has been rarely reported in the body fluids like ascitic, pleural, and cerebrospinal fluid. In this article, we report an interesting case of ERMS which had deceptive small blue round cells in pleural fluid. The cytomorphological features along with a panel of immunocytochemical markers helped in arriving at the definite diagnosis. Later, biopsy from the breast lump and retroperitoneal mass also revealed the same tumor. This case is reported since it is rare to find sarcoma cells in pleural fluid and highlight the diagnostic difficulties faced during interpretation.

Cutaneous metastasis in a case of Wilm's tumor diagnosed on cytology - A rare case report

A 12-year-old male child presented with complaints of a slow growing swelling in the right parasternal region noticed since one month. On examination, the lump was 2 × 2 cm firm, mobile nontender located in the subcutaneous plane which was also confirmed radiologically. Fine needle aspiration cytology was attempted showed small to medium sized monotonous round cell morphology, nuclear molding and mitotic figures were frequent. Few cells exhibiting rosettoid arrangement. No definite epithelial or mesenchymal component was evident. No glio-fibrillary matrix or lymphoglandular bodies were evident in the smears. Based on morphology, a small round cell tumor was considered with possibilities of Wilm's tumor and Ewing's family of tumor. Based on morphological differentials ICC was requested, tumor cells were positive for strong nuclear WT1 staining while CK and FLI1 were negative. The cytomorphology along with the ICC confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic wilm's tumor. Seven years back, patient had a history of nephrectomy, which on histopathology was reported as triphasic Wilms tumor with favorable histology. Generally Wilm's tumor recurs within 2 years of diagnosis. Late recurrence in Wilm's tumor is rare with only a handful of case reports. Common sites for metastasis include lung, liver, contralateral kidney. Cutaneous metastasis is very uncommon, early detection of which with helps in therapeutic and prognostic decisions. The interesting aspect of this article is cytological detection of cutaneous metastasis of late recurrence Wilm's tumor, which is extremely rare to occur.

Comparison of the quality of the microwave cell-block method with the conventional cell-block method in processing body fluid samples

INTRODUCTION

Conventional cell blocks (CCB) prepared from cytological specimens are very useful but the method is relatively time-consuming. Suitable modifications in cell-block techniques are beneficial for improving the turnaround time. We share our experience of a rapid microwave cell-block (MCB) technique.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

To study the quality of routine and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of cell-block sections from serous body fluids prepared by the MCB technique compared with the CCB technique.

METHOD

A total of 177 serous body fluid samples were processed by routine centrifugation technique, and the sediments were used for cell-block preparations by both conventional and rapid microwave methods. Cell-block sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin stain. Haematoxylin and eosin staining quality was analysed using three parameters (cellularity, morphology and staining intensity). IHC for epithelial membrane antigen and calretinin were also performed, and the quality of staining was evaluated on 62/177 samples. Results were analysed using appropriate statistical tests.

RESULTS

The time taken for processing cell blocks by the MCB method was 1 hour and 18 minutes compared to 13 hours and 45 minutes by CCB. The quality of sections by both methods showed good agreement for cellularity and intensity of staining, and moderate agreement for morphology. A 100% concordance was noted for distinguishing benign and malignant samples on morphology as well as with IHC stain results.

CONCLUSION

Although the techniques are comparable in terms of quality of routine and IHC staining, we recommend using the MCB technique due to its short turnaround time.

Ocular surface disorder among adult patients with type II diabetes mellitus and its correlation with tear film markers: A pilot study

PURPOSE

The purpose is to study the ocular surface changes among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and to correlate them with tear film markers such as insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, interleukin (IL)-1β, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study was carried out on diabetic patients (>5 years' duration) and healthy age- and gender-matched controls with 21 individuals in each group. Schirmer's test for basal and reflex tear secretion, tear film breakup time (TBUT) for tear stability, ocular staining score (OSS) for dryness severity, ocular surface disease index (OSDI) for symptomatic assessment of dryness and conjunctival impression cytology (IC) for epithelial cell integrity, keratinization, squamous metaplasia, and goblet cell density was studied. Thirty microliters of tears were collected to test IGF-1, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels.

RESULTS

Patients with DM showed significantly low Schirmer's, TBUT, and OSS values than controls. OSDI score showed moderate-severe dryness in patients with DM and only mild symptoms among controls. An abnormal IC score was seen among cases and controls. The level of TNF-α was significantly increased in patients with DM and positively correlated with Schirmer and TBUT values (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Dry eye is more prevalent in patients with DM compared to controls as evidenced by poor OSDI score, Schirmer, TBUT, and OSS. TNF-α in the tears of patients with DM is a useful marker that showed a good correlation with Schirmer, TBUT, and dry eye symptoms. IC could not conclusively differentiate the dry eye status in patients with DM from controls.

Comparison of intraoperative imprints cytology with frozen section for lymph node metastasis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Intraoperative evaluation of lymph nodal metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) assumes importance and avoids over-treatment in clinically node negative (N0) neck. Frozen section (FZ) is the commonly employed technique, but it requires significant investment in resources, time, and personnel. Intraoperative imprint cytology (IC) is a rapid, reliable, and inexpensive alternative. We conducted a prospective study to assess the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative IC and FZ for lymph node metastasis in HNSCC.

METHODS

All patients presenting with HNSCC with clinically N0 neck undergoing surgery were included in the study, and intraoperative assessment of clinically suspicious nodes was done using IC and FZ and was reviewed by two independent pathologists. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of IC and FZ were calculated with reference to the final histopathology report. The time duration for reporting was calculated.

RESULTS

Thirty-four patients with clinically N0 neck were included in the study, and 85 slides were examined. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of FZ were 100%, 98.6%, and 98.9%, respectively, whereas for IC, it was 85.7%, 95.8%, and 94.1%, respectively. The mean time duration for reporting for FZ and IC was 41.18 ± 3.62 and 18.12 ± 2.01 minutes, respectively.

CONCLUSION

IC provides a cheaper, accurate, and rapid alternative for FZ for intraoperative assessment of neck nodes in HNSCC, and it assumes importance in resource-driven countries like India.

Descriptive study of the histopathological subtypes and programmed death-ligand 1 in metaplastic breast carcinoma

Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma (MBC) is a rare heterogeneous group of tumors, the incidence of which is less than 1% of breast tumors. These are a unique set of tumors with varying subtypes, poor prognosis, and an increased chance of distant metastasis. We aimed to study the clinical, histomorphological, and immunohistochemical (IHC) features of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma (MBC). This was a descriptive study of cases diagnosed as MBC at a tertiary care center in Southern India from January 2015 to December 2019. A total of 20 cases were diagnosed whose clinical, histomorphological, and IHC features were studied. PD-L1and CD8 IHC were performed and analyzed in 12 cases. The median age of presentation was 50 years. Seventy percent (14/20) patients were postmenopausal women. On excision, 75% (15/20) showed mixed typed MBC, the remainder showing epithelial type MBC. Metastasis to axillary lymph node was seen only in 20% (4/20) of the cases. Thirty percent (6/20) of the cases belonged to stage 3 disease and 5% (1/20) of the cases belonged to stage 4 disease with liver metastasis. Estrogen receptor (ER), Progesterone receptor (PR) were negative in all the cases, Her2neu was positive in three cases. Ki67 labeling index was greater than 14% in all the cases. PD-L1was positive in 41.5% of the cases and intratumoral CD8 positive lymphocytes were increased in 83.3% of the cases. MBCs are tumors occurring in elderly postmenopausal women, presenting with large tumor size, have lesser chances of lymph node metastasis, and a higher chance of recurrence and hematogenous spread. They are negative for ER, PR, Her-2 neu, with a high Ki67 index and a strong PDL-1 expression.

Prenatal grading of fetal congenital heart disease and its influence on decision making during pregnancy and postnatal period: a prospective study

BACKGROUND

Congenital heart defects(CHDs) are an important cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. With advances in diagnosis and treatment, many defects are now amenable to correction. There is a need for individualized approach to prenatally detected lesions to predict the likely prognosis. Assigning them into risk category helps in prenatal counseling, decision making, referrals and formulation of management plan to improve the outcome.

OBJECTIVE

To grade the fetal CHDs according to severity and study its usefulness in decision making.

METHODS

A prospective study at a tertiary care institute between 2016 and 18, including pregnant women with antenatal diagnosis of fetal CHD. Detailed fetal echocardiography was followed by classification of lesions into four risk categories using modified grading system: (A) extremely high risk; (B) high risk (C) moderate risk (D) low risk. Appropriate counseling was provided to facilitate decision making and further management. The grading was reviewed and revised again postpartum/post-mortem for correlation.

RESULTS

Of the total 137 cases, almost half (45.53%) were Category B, while Category D, C and A had 24.1%, 20.4% and 10.2% of cases respectively. The mean gestation age at diagnosis was 26.5 weeks. Termination of pregnancy was done in 21 cases, mostly in Category B (71.4%) and of the 116 continued pregnancies, there were 16 intrauterine deaths. Prenatal and postnatal findings were available in 109 cases and kappa analysis for agreement between antenatal and postnatal grading showed good agreement (0.82).

CONCLUSION

Prenatal grading of congenital heart disease is a reliable, structured and simplified tool that can be used for providing counseling and facilitate decision making.

Cyto-morphological and clinical approach to infections presenting with discharging sinuses mimicking malignancy

INTRODUCTION

Discharging sinuses is a form of chronic unhealed infection that can present at any site due to a variety of infectious organisms. These discharging sinuses may be associated with mass lesions and lymphadenopathy to mimic some neoplastic processes. Identifying these infections with accuracy and promptness is essential, as the treatment regimens are specific. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of these lesions, along with appropriate cytochemical stains, aids in the rapid and precise diagnosis of these infections and excludes neoplasms at these sites. Also, material for culture and other studies can be obtained by FNA.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of pathology from 2018 to 2020. A total of 179 patients with similar clinical presentation and confirmed infection on cytology were identified. On the evaluation of the requisition forms, 32 (18%) patients were identified with discharging sinus associated along with swelling.

RESULTS

The five infections (32 cases) that were identified, included 18 cases of tuberculosis (56.25%) followed by 9 cases of actinomycosis (28.12%), 3 cases of pheohypomycosis (9.37%), and one case each of Nocardia (3.12%) and eumycetoma (3.12%) which presented as swelling with discharging sinus. Special stains were performed in all cases for confirmation. Histopathological/Microbiological correlation was done whenever available.

CONCLUSION

Infections presenting as swelling with discharging sinuses mimicking malignancy can be diagnosed on FNAC with good accuracy.

Orbital plasmacytoma as the presenting feature in multiple myeloma

A 50-year-old female patient presented with protrusion of the left eye for 1 month. Examination showed abaxial proptosis, restriction of extraocular movements, and elevated intraocular pressure. Computed tomography of the orbits showed soft tissue enhancing lesion in the superolateral aspect of the left orbit with lytic lesions in calvarium. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the lesion revealed a diagnosis of plasmacytoma with positive CD138 and CD38 immunohistochemical stains. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and serum lactate dehydrogenase were elevated. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed hypergammaglobulinemia, and bone marrow biopsy revealed 6% plasma cells. The patient was started on chemotherapy with bortezomib, dexamethasone and lenalidomide by the medical oncologist. Significant improvement in proptosis and extraocular movements noted on follow-up. Orbital myeloma may be the first manifestation of systemic disease.

Intraparotid metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma diagnosed by FNAC-Report of a rare case

Metastasis to the parotid gland accounts for 10%-16% of parotid malignancies. Head and neck malignancies constitute the major bulk of metastatic lesions to the parotid. The other common primaries include the breast, kidney, lung, and prostate. Metastasis from the lung to the parotid is a relatively rare occurrence whose exact percentage is not known. Though intralymphatic spread into the parotid is known, intraparenchymal spread through hematogenous route is rare. The presence of intraparenchymal spread of lung Adenocarcinoma to the contralateral parotid diagnosed on fine needle aspiration (FNA) makes it a case worth reporting, highlighting the utility of cell block preparation and immunohistochemistry for a precise and early diagnosis.