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Storage Artifact Masquerading as Yeast: Presenting a Diagnostic Pitfall.
Elena M Fenu1, Tawfeq Naal1, Elizabeth Palavecino1
1Department of Pathology, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Case Reports in Pathology
|October 18, 2022
Summary
Prolonged storage of blood and body fluid samples can alter cell appearance. This nuclear pyknosis in neutrophils may mimic infections, leading to potential misdiagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Cytopathology
Background:
- Cellular morphology is crucial for diagnosing infections and other conditions.
- Specimen integrity is vital for accurate microscopic examination.
Observation:
- Prolonged storage of blood and body fluid specimens can induce abnormal cell morphology.
- Nuclear pyknosis in segmented neutrophils is a notable change, affecting both peripheral blood and body fluid samples.
Findings:
- Nuclear pyknosis can be mistaken for intracellular microorganisms like yeast or bacteria.
- This morphologic alteration poses a diagnostic challenge, particularly in body fluid analysis.
Implications:
- Awareness of storage-induced changes is essential to prevent misdiagnosis of infections.
- Misidentification may lead to unnecessary investigations for fungal or bacterial infections.
- Accurate interpretation requires differentiating artifact from true pathological findings.
