Reduced alcohol use in the staining of pap smears: A satisfactory, low-cost protocol for cervical cancer screening

Objective: To describe a low-cost Papanicolaou staining procedure that can be applied to conventional and monolayer gynecologic preparations. Study Design: The amount of alcohol consumed in the procedure, which normally accounts for > 80% of the cost of processing, was reduced drastically by (1) using only 1 modified cytoplasmic counterstain (EA type), thereby (2) reducing the number of alcohol rinses by over half. Orange-G dye is omitted. Results: The resultant effect of the modified staining protocol is quite satisfactory and attractive to screening eyes: nuclear details are sharp and crisp, while the cytoplasm contains transparent differential staining with blue-green and pink. Conclusion: A reduction in the cost of staining should encourage cervical cancer screening, especially in developing countries, where cost is a limiting factor, thus making it possible for more women to be screened without increasing the cost of the program. © The International Academy of Cytology.