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Cytodiagnosis of nasal allergy
ABSTRACTS O F A N N U A L S C I E N T I F I C M E E T I N G
1968
159
THE FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TEST I N THE DIAGNOSIS 0 F TOXO PLAS M OSlS
GARVEN, A. K. Footscray and District Hospital, Footscray, Victoria The indirect fluorescent antibody technique was recommended as a replacement for the Sabin and Feldman dye neutralization test for toxoplasmosis. It appears to be more specific and is less subject to technical vagaries. The titres are comparable to those of the dye test, and a raised titre is interpreted in a similar way. The technical details of the test were described. The results of three years’ investigations with this technique showed a low incidence of symptomatic toxoplasmosis in the community. In neonatal disease the diagnosis was made in only two cases out of 200 referrals. I n patients with choroido-retinitis, raised titres were obtained in 40% of the referrals, an incidence higher than that of the population at large; the significance of these findings was discussed. Among 150 patients with a variety of symptoms consistent with acquired toxoplasmosis the diagnosis was established in three cases, all of which presented with lymphadenopathy. Lymph node biopsies from these patients showed the characteristic focal proliferation of histiocytes, examples of which were illustrated. CYTODIAGNOSIS OF NASAL ALLERGY University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Tasmania ALI, M. Y.
This study was a further evaluation of the diagnostic potential of exfoliative cytology in distinguishing between rhinitis due to infection and that due to allergy. The smears examined were collected from 200 persons, 50 of these being normal controls. Two smears were prepared from each swab; one was stained by the Papanicolaou technique and the other by a modified Dominici method which stains mast cells and eosinophilic granules. The smears were then scrutinized for the presence of eosinophils, mast cells, goblet cells, and of a certain type of distorted ciliated cell known as ciliocytophoria (CCP). The results were subjected to statistical analysis and their diagnostic significance assessed in the light of available clinical data. The results show that exfoliative cytology can be used to distinguish between nasal infections and allergic rhinitis. Taking into account results obtained by other investigators the following diagnostic criteria emerged as a result of the present study. 1. Nasal smears from patients with allergic rhinitis revealed the presence of large numbers of both eosinophils and mast cells. Mast cells appeared first and increased in number during the first 24 hr.; thereafter they gradually decreased while eosinophils showed a sharp increase in number. 2. With increases in the number of eosinophils, cytoplasmic vacuoles appeared in over 507b of the eosinophilic leucocytes. 3. Contrary to information given in other published reports, the presence of goblet cells did not appear to bear any relationship to nasal allergy. 4. Ciliocytophoria (CCP) was identified in 88% of infective rhinitis and in only 10% of allergic rhinitis. These findings are statistically significant and indicate that the presence of CCP is associated with acute forms of infective rhinitis. THE SPECIFICITY OF ARGlNlNE INFUSION AS A TEST FOR GROWTH HORMONE SECRETION BEST,J. B., CATT,K. J., CAMERON, D. P., BURGER, H. G. & TREGEAR, G. W. Department of Medicine, Monash University and Medical Research Centre, Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria
Radio-immunological techniques have enabled the measurement of human growth hormone (HGH) in the plasma to be performed under various physiological and pathological conditions. Rises in plasma HGH have been observed in association with a variety of conditions such as fasting, physical activity and stress; and after insulin hypoglycaemia, the infusion of certain amino acids, and the administration of 2-desoxy-D-glucose and of endotoxin (‘Piromen’). This paper presented a comparative study of the two most commonly used provocative tests, the insulin tolerance test and the arginine infusion test, both of which caused an apparent response in most
1968
159
THE FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TEST I N THE DIAGNOSIS 0 F TOXO PLAS M OSlS
GARVEN, A. K. Footscray and District Hospital, Footscray, Victoria The indirect fluorescent antibody technique was recommended as a replacement for the Sabin and Feldman dye neutralization test for toxoplasmosis. It appears to be more specific and is less subject to technical vagaries. The titres are comparable to those of the dye test, and a raised titre is interpreted in a similar way. The technical details of the test were described. The results of three years’ investigations with this technique showed a low incidence of symptomatic toxoplasmosis in the community. In neonatal disease the diagnosis was made in only two cases out of 200 referrals. I n patients with choroido-retinitis, raised titres were obtained in 40% of the referrals, an incidence higher than that of the population at large; the significance of these findings was discussed. Among 150 patients with a variety of symptoms consistent with acquired toxoplasmosis the diagnosis was established in three cases, all of which presented with lymphadenopathy. Lymph node biopsies from these patients showed the characteristic focal proliferation of histiocytes, examples of which were illustrated. CYTODIAGNOSIS OF NASAL ALLERGY University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, Tasmania ALI, M. Y.
This study was a further evaluation of the diagnostic potential of exfoliative cytology in distinguishing between rhinitis due to infection and that due to allergy. The smears examined were collected from 200 persons, 50 of these being normal controls. Two smears were prepared from each swab; one was stained by the Papanicolaou technique and the other by a modified Dominici method which stains mast cells and eosinophilic granules. The smears were then scrutinized for the presence of eosinophils, mast cells, goblet cells, and of a certain type of distorted ciliated cell known as ciliocytophoria (CCP). The results were subjected to statistical analysis and their diagnostic significance assessed in the light of available clinical data. The results show that exfoliative cytology can be used to distinguish between nasal infections and allergic rhinitis. Taking into account results obtained by other investigators the following diagnostic criteria emerged as a result of the present study. 1. Nasal smears from patients with allergic rhinitis revealed the presence of large numbers of both eosinophils and mast cells. Mast cells appeared first and increased in number during the first 24 hr.; thereafter they gradually decreased while eosinophils showed a sharp increase in number. 2. With increases in the number of eosinophils, cytoplasmic vacuoles appeared in over 507b of the eosinophilic leucocytes. 3. Contrary to information given in other published reports, the presence of goblet cells did not appear to bear any relationship to nasal allergy. 4. Ciliocytophoria (CCP) was identified in 88% of infective rhinitis and in only 10% of allergic rhinitis. These findings are statistically significant and indicate that the presence of CCP is associated with acute forms of infective rhinitis. THE SPECIFICITY OF ARGlNlNE INFUSION AS A TEST FOR GROWTH HORMONE SECRETION BEST,J. B., CATT,K. J., CAMERON, D. P., BURGER, H. G. & TREGEAR, G. W. Department of Medicine, Monash University and Medical Research Centre, Prince Henry’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria
Radio-immunological techniques have enabled the measurement of human growth hormone (HGH) in the plasma to be performed under various physiological and pathological conditions. Rises in plasma HGH have been observed in association with a variety of conditions such as fasting, physical activity and stress; and after insulin hypoglycaemia, the infusion of certain amino acids, and the administration of 2-desoxy-D-glucose and of endotoxin (‘Piromen’). This paper presented a comparative study of the two most commonly used provocative tests, the insulin tolerance test and the arginine infusion test, both of which caused an apparent response in most