Objective:To study skin sensitivity to various allergens in patients of nasobronchial allergy.Materials and Methods:2880 skin prick tests with 60 allergens were performed in 48 patients of nasobronchial allergy.Results:Most common offending allergens were insects (21.2%), followed by dusts (12.0%), pollens (7.8%), animal dander (3.1%), and fungi (1.3%). The common insect antigen were locust female (33.3%) followed by locust male (25%), grasshopper (20.8%), cricket (16.7%), cockroach female (16.7%) and cockroach male (14.6%). Common dust allergens were house dust, wheat dust, cotton mill and paper dust. Among pollens, Amaranthus spinosus, Argemone mexicana, Adhatoda vasica, Ailanthus and Cannabis were found to be common allergens. In animal danders common offending allergens were cow dander and dog dander. Among fungi Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria teneis and Fusarium sodani were common allergens. Patients of bronchial asthma had associated allergic rhinitis in 80% cases.Conclusion:Common allergens in patients of nasobronchial allergy were identified. The data may prove useful in of allergen avoidance and immunotherapy in these patients.

Background: Both non-malignant and malignant causes of effusion can be identifi ed by the relatively non-invasive technique of pleural fl uid cytology. With this basis the present study on cytology of pleural fl uids was taken up. The diagnostic signifi cance of the cytologic study of the fl uid may be attributable to the fact that the cell population present in the sediment is representative of a much larger surface area than that obtained by needle biopsy. Materials and Methods:One hundred samples of pleural fl uid were examined for total cell count, cell type and cellular features. They were also subjected to biochemical study to fi nd out the level of protein, glucose and chloride.Results: A total of 82% samples were exudative and 18% were transudative. Total leukocyte count (TLC) was less than 1000 cells/cu.mm in most (88.89%) of transudative effusions. Overall 52.44% of exudative effusions had TLC greater than 1000 cells/cu.mm. It was noted that 96.88% of tuberculous effusions had more than 50% lymphocytes, 81.25% had protein greater than 5 gm/dl and 90.63% had glucose greater than 60 mg/dl. Approximately 28% of pleural effusions were positive for malignant cells. Most (82%) of malignant effusions were exudative. The primary site could be assessed by cytological examination in 57.14% of malignant effusions. Conclusions:The most useful test in establishing the diagnosis of pleural effusion is pleural fl uid cytology and pleural fl uid cell count. Cytologic study of pleural fl uid is a complete diagnostic modality which aims at pointing out the etiology of effusion as well as, in certain cases, a means of prognostication of disease process.

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai–Dorfman disease) is a rare benign disease of unknown etiology presenting with massive lymphadenopathy. These cases can often be misdiagnosed as lymphoma. Hence, it is important to distinguish Rosai–Dorfman disease from lymphoma and other causes of histiocytosis because of the different treatment modalities. We report here a case of Rosai–Dorfman presenting with massive bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. We conclude that fine needle aspiration cytology is a useful and reliable tool for the diagnosis of Rosai-Dorfman disease due to which biopsy can be avoided in these patients, thus, reducing inconvenience to patients.

Background The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic has greatly impacted the health services worldwide, challenging the way modern medicine has been practiced for decades. Aim The present study documents an institutional experience on its impact on cytology services. Materials & Methods The cytology samples received during lock down period in India (24 March to 17 May 2020) were analysis and compared to the samples received during the same time frame in year 2019. Results The data revealed an overall 92.6% reduction in cytology samples received. All sample types were reduced with a statically significant reduction in thyroid cytology samples (P‐value: .023). There was relative increase in breast and lymph node samples; however, this relative increase was not statistically significant. The malignancy rate also significantly increased by 34.1% accompanied by decrease in neoplastic category among the samples received during COVID‐19 lockdown period. Breast samples remain the most frequent sample type both in pre‐COVID‐19 and COVID‐19 periods. Majority of fine‐needle aspiration done in these cases, during the lockdown period, were either in cases for recurrence or primary diagnosis. Conclusion Prioritization of samples, proper precautions and triaging of patients before procedure helped in carrying out this procedure safely.

SUMMARYTuberculous involvement of the metacarpals and phalanges is a rare presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in adult. Here is a case of tubercular dactylitis in a 27 year old female presenting as discharging sinus over proximal part of third metacarpalbone of left hand.