Efficacy of Methylene Blue and Papanicolaou Stain in Sex Determination-A Comparative Study
Author(s): Arun Kishore RN, Priyadharshini R* and Palati Sinduj
Abstract
Introduction: Exfoliative cytology of epithelial cells is a non-invasive easy method for the collection of samples and the examination of the cells. The cells are collected by brushing, scraping, or by any abrasive method. Barr body or sex chromatins are a condensation of chromatin present at the nucleus of cells in female individuals. Diagnostic cytology is an important element of the criminal investigation of assault, robbery, sexual assaults, criminal cases, sports, etc. Aim: The study aims to find the efficacy of methylene blue and Papanicolaou staining in sex determination with the help of Barr bodies. Materials and methods: The smears were collected from 10 healthy males and 10 healthy females. First, the individual participant was asked to gargle the mouth with water, then the smear was collected with the help of the wooden spatula. The wooden spatula was scraped against the buccal mucosa from the epithelial layer and was smeared in two glass slides from each individual with a single Stoke. The smear was air-dried and fixed in 95% isopropyl alcohol in a Coplin jar for 40 minutes followed by Papanicolaou staining and methylene blue staining and the slides were mounted in DPX and observed under 40x and number of barr bodies was counted. SPSS software was used and a chi square test was used. Results: 97 percent sensitivity was shown with Papanicolaou staining when compared with Methylene Blue. 98 percent specificity was shown with Papanicolaou staining when compared with Methylene Blue which showed 94 percent. The p value is 0.03 which is less than 0.05 which shows the results are significant. Conclusion: From the study we can conclude that both Papanicolaou stains and methylene blue staining techniques are good in identification of barr bodies. 97 percent accuracy was shown with Papanicolaou staining when compared with Methylene Blue which showed 96%. We can conclude that Papanicolaou stain is more efficient in the identification of Barr bodies than that of methylene blue.