Do gelatin-coated slides increase cellular retention in oral exfoliative cytology?

A minimum number of cells is required for an accurate cytologic assessment of oral lesions; however, the cell yield in some oral smears is reduced, relating to the site from which the cells were harvested and to the lesion examined. The use of gelatin coating to increase the retention of cells in smears from such sites was assessed. Cells were obtained from four sites within the oral cavities of 20 patients (10 male and 10 female) with healthy mouths. Using a wooden spatula, two samples were obtained from each site; one was transferred to a gelatin-coated slide, the other to an uncoated slide. For each slide, the cell yield was rated on a scale of 0 (no cells), 1 (few cells) and 2 (many cells). The results were then analyzed using the Wilcoxon sign-rank test. The coated and uncoated slides yielded similar results for most sites, except that the coated slides seemed to be advantageous for samples from the ventral surface of the tongue.