Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Detecting Glycogen in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells with Periodic Acid Schiff Staining
Published on: December 23, 2014
A simple method to determine the need for glacial acetic acid treatment of bloody ThinPrep Pap tests before slide
1Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, Associated Regional and University Pathologists Laboratories, Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA.
Abstract:
ThinPrep (TP) Papanicolaou (Pap) samples containing excessive blood often result in unsatisfactory preparations, possibly leading to undetected gynecologic disease, and added inconvenience to patients and clinicians. Reprocessing of these samples with a glacial acetic acid wash is effective at eliminating blood, providing satisfactory preparation and detection of lesions. However, it increases laboratory costs and decreases work flow efficiency. We report the use of a color standard for gauging the necessity of performing a glacial acetic acid wash before TP processing. This "preprocessing" was found to reduce the costs associated with reprocessing by 48%, while maintaining high preparation quality by improved sample adequacy.
Insights
Excessively bloody ThinPrep (TP) Pap samples can be improved with a glacial acetic acid wash. A new color standard preprocessing method reduces costs by 48% while maintaining high preparation quality for better gynecologic disease detection.
Area of Science:
- Gynecologic cytology
- Cervical cancer screening
- Laboratory diagnostics
Background:
- ThinPrep (TP) Papanicolaou (Pap) samples with high blood content often lead to unsatisfactory preparations.
- This can result in missed gynecologic disease detection and inconvenience for patients and clinicians.
- Reprocessing with glacial acetic acid wash improves sample adequacy but increases costs and reduces workflow efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a novel color standard for assessing the need for glacial acetic acid wash in TP Pap samples.
- To determine if this preprocessing method can reduce costs and maintain preparation quality.
Main Methods:
- Development and application of a color standard to gauge blood levels in TP Pap samples.
- Comparison of reprocessing costs and preparation adequacy with and without the color standard preprocessing.
Main Results:
- The color standard preprocessing significantly reduced reprocessing costs by 48%.
- Preparation quality and sample adequacy were maintained at high levels.
- The method effectively identified samples requiring glacial acetic acid wash.
Conclusions:
- A color standard-guided preprocessing approach is a cost-effective strategy for managing bloody TP Pap samples.
- This method improves laboratory efficiency and maintains high-quality diagnostic preparations.
- Implementing this preprocessing can enhance the reliability of cervical cancer screening.
