What is the purpose of thick blood smear?
What is the purpose of thick blood smear?
A thick blood smear is a drop of blood on a glass slide. Thick blood smears are most useful for detecting the presence of parasites, because they examine a larger sample of blood. (Often there are few parasites in the blood at the time the test is done.)
Which stain is used on thick blood smear?
Leishman’s staining method for thin and thick smears is a good alternative to Giemsa’s stain for identifying Plasmodium parasites. The Leishman method is superior for visualization of red and white blood cell morphology.
What are the key differences between a thick smear and a thin smear?
Thin and thick smears are two different types of blood smears that contain red blood cells. In a thin smear, a drop of blood is spread across a large area of a slide. In a thick smear, a drop of blood is put on a glass slide. So, this is the key difference between thin and thick smear.
Why is Leishman stain used for blood smear?
Leishman stain is used in microscopy for staining blood smears. It provides excellent stain quality. It is generally used to differentiate and identify leucocytes, malaria parasites, and trypanosoma. It is based on a methanolic mixture of “polychromed” methylene blue.
Why Giemsa stain is used?
Giemsa stain is performed on paraffin sections. It is used to stain the blood cells of hematopoietic tissues. It can also be applied to all tissue sections in which the presence of microorganisms is suspected. Gram + and Gram Bacteria are not differentiated with this staining.
Why do we make thin smear and not thick smear?
Thin blood smears differentiates the diagnosis since the parasites are viewed within host cells which are often affected differently by different parasite species. As Łukasz Frąckowski explains, the thick smear is used to make the diagnosis of malaria as it is a concentration technique.
How do you make a thick and thin blood smear?
Thin smears
- Place a small drop of blood on the pre-cleaned, labeled slide, near its frosted end.
- Bring another slide at a 30-45° angle up to the drop, allowing the drop to spread along the contact line of the 2 slides.
- Quickly push the upper (spreader) slide toward the unfrosted end of the lower slide.
What are the criteria of a good blood smear?
Based on our experience and a review of the literature on performance evaluation of currently available analyzers, we suggest that the criteria for a blood smear scan should include (a) CBC and/or DIFF results flagged by the automated analyzers for verification, (b) initial platelet count below 100×109/L, whether …
How to make thick and thin blood smears?
Making thick and thin blood smears . 1. Whenever possible, use separate slides for thick and thin smears. 2. Thin film (a): Bring a clean spreader slide, held at a 45° angle, toward the drop of blood on the specimen slide. 3. Thin film (b): Wait until the blood spreads along the entire width of the spreader slide. 4.
How do you prepare a smear for a blood test?
Prepare at least 2 smears per patient! A thin smear being prepared. Place a small drop of blood on the pre-cleaned, labeled slide, near its frosted end. Bring another slide at a 30-45° angle up to the drop, allowing the drop to spread along the contact line of the 2 slides.
How do you use a blood smear spreader?
Place a small drop of blood on the pre-cleaned, labeled slide, near its frosted end. Bring another slide at a 30-45° angle up to the drop, allowing the drop to spread along the contact line of the 2 slides. Quickly push the upper (spreader) slide toward the unfrosted end of the lower slide. Make sure that the smears have a good feathered edge.
How are thick and thin blood smears used to diagnose malaria?
Laboratory diagnosis of malaria Making thick and thin blood smears 1. Whenever possible, use separate slides for thick and thin smears. 2. Thin film (a): Bring a clean spreader slide, held at a 45° angle, toward the drop of blood on the specimen slide.