MICROSCOPY SMEAR 
EXAMINATION 
RECORDING & REPORTING
CCoonntteenntt OOvveerrvviieeww 
•Required materials 
•Reading the smear 
•Appearance of AFB 
•Malaysia grading scale 
•WHO/IUATLD grading scale 
•Cleaning of objectives 
•Storage of smears
SSyysstteemmaattiicc EExxaammiinnaattiioonn 
ooff SSmmeeaarrss 
2 cm 
3 cm
OOvveerrvviieeww ooff MMiiccrroossccooppyy 
• Place smear facing upwards onto stage 
• Focus using 10x objective 
• Apply immersion oil and focus 100x 
objective 
• Examine at least 300 fields 
• Quantitate AFB 
• Record and report results 
• Store all smears
SSttaaiinneedd SSmmeeaarr -- 11
AAFFBB iinn SSiinnggllee AArrrraannggeemmeenntt
AAFFBB -- iinn VVaarriioouuss AArrrraannggeemmeennttss
AAFFBB -- iinn VVaarriioouuss AArrrraannggeemmeennttss
EExxcceessssiivvee HHeeaatt FFiixxiinngg ooff SSmmeeaarr
GGllaassss SSlliiddee SSccrraattcchh aanndd AAFFBB
WWhhaatt iiss tthhee iimmppoorrttaannccee ooff SSmmeeaarr 
ggrraaddiinngg ?? 
-To know the disease status 
-Quality Control
AApppplliiccaattiioonn ooff OOiill
OBSERVATION OOFF SSTTAAIINNEEDD SSMMEEAARR 
(oolldd MMaallaayyssiiaann ssttaannddaarrdd)) 
3 cm = 100 visual field 
•Examine the smear 
under x100 objective 
with the 10 eye piece 
lens 
•Read at least 300 visual 
fields to give a report a 
negative
RReeccoorrddiinngg aanndd rreeppoorrttiinngg 
-- mmaaxxiimmuumm 5500 bbaacciillllii iiss ccoouunntteedd 
Old Malaysian Standard 
If 50 or more bacilli found in the first line > 50 /L 
11 to 49 bacilli seen at the end of first line 
 Write the actual no. of AFB seen 
35/L, or 
11/L 
If 50 bacilli seen in any part of the slides 50/ >L 
Number of bacilli seen after 3 lines 
examined 
 Write the actual no. of AFB seen 
3/3L or 
49 /3L 
No AFB seen 0/3L
OOBBSSEERRVVAATTIIOONN OOFF SSTTAAIINNEEDD SSMMEEAARR 
--IInntteerrnnaattiioonnaall SSttaannddaarrdd-- 
3 cm = 150 visual field 
•Examine the smear 
under x100 objective 
with the 10 eye piece 
lens 
•Read at least 300 visual 
fields to give a report a 
negative
Number of AFB Number of fields* 
examined 
What to report 
No AFB in 300 
fields 300 fields No Acid Fast Bacilli seen 
1–9 AFB in 100 
fields 100 fields 
Record exact figure 
(1 to 9 AFB per 100 fields) 
10– 99 AFB in 
100 fields 100 fields 
1 + 
1– 10 AFB in 
each field 50 fields 
2 + 
More than 10 
AFB in each 
field 
20 fields 
3 + 
* Oil immersion fields
RReeccoorrddiinngg aanndd 
RReeppoorrttiinngg 
Interpretation of Smears
SSmmeeaarr CCoonnttaaiinnss NNoo 
AAFFBB iinn 330000 FFiieellddss wwiillll 
bbee ggrraaddeedd aass 
No AFB Seen
00 -- NNoo AAFFBB sseeeenn iinn 330000 vviissuuaall 
ffiieellddss 
1VF 2VF 3VF 4VF................................ 148VF 149VF 150VF
11--99 AAFFBB sseeeenn 
iinn110000 VVFF wwiillll 
bbee ggrraaddeedd aass 
Scanty
Scanty - 1-9 AFB seen in 100 VF 
(Write the actual number of AFB seen, e.g. 1/100VF, 
3/100VF…9/100VF)
Scanty - 1-9 AFB seen in 100 VF 
(Write the actual number of AFB seen, e.g. 1/100VF, 
3/100VF…9/100VF) 
7/100VF
AA ssmmeeaarr wwiitthh 1100 
ttoo 9999 bbaacciillllii iinn 
110000 ffiieellddss wwiillll bbee 
ggrraaddeedd aass 1+
11++ -- 1100--9999 AAFFBB sseeeenn iinn 110000 VVFF 
1+
11++ -- 1100--9999 AAFFBB sseeeenn iinn 110000 VVFF 
1+
AA ssmmeeaarr wwiitthh 11 
ttoo 99 bbaacciillllii iinn aatt 
lleeaasstt 5500 ffiieellddss 
wwiillll bbee ggrraaddeedd 
aass 2+
22++ -- 11--1100 AAFFBB//OOIIFF iinn aatt lleeaasstt 
5500 VVFF 
1VF=3 2VF=1 3VF=2................ 49VF=3 50VF=4 
2+
AA ssmmeeaarr wwiitthh 
mmoorree tthhaann 1100 
AAFFBB//OOIIFF iinn aatt 
lleeaasstt 2200 ffiieellddss 
wwiillll bbee ggrraaddeedd aass 
3+
33++ -- MMoorree tthhaann 1100 AAFFBB//OOIIFF iinn aatt lleeaasstt 2200 
VVFF 
3+
RReeccoorrddiinngg RReessuullttss
CClleeaanniinngg tthhee OObbjjeeccttiivveess
HHooww ttoo ssttoorree tthhee sslliiddeess??
RReemmoovvee OOiill ffrroomm SSmmeeaarrss
SSttoorraaggee ooff SSmmeeaarrss
WWhhaatt wwiillll hhaappppeenn wwhheenn tthhee 
ssmmeeaarr rreessuullttss aarree rreeppoorrtteedd 
iinnccoorrrreeccttllyy ??
These variations can be minimized 
by;
MMAAIINN CCAAUUSSEESS OOFF FFAALLSSEE RREEAADDIINNGGSS IINN SSMMEEAARR 
PPRREEPPAARRAATTIIOONN 
Check point Causes False Positive 
F(+) 
False Negative 
F(-) 
Size Too big 
Too small 
** 
Evenness Uneven 
Sloughed-off 
** 
Thickness Too thick 
Too thin 
** 
Cleanliness Dirt 
Artifact 
** 
* 
Sputum quality Saliva * 
Staining Overheating 
Insufficient heating 
Under decolourization 
* 
* 
***
FFaallssee NNeeggaattiivveess aanndd 
CCoonnsseeqquueenncceess
FFaallssee PPoossiittiivveess aanndd 
CCoonnsseeqquueenncceess
EXERCISE 
GGrraaddee tthhee FFoolllloowwiinngg 
SSmmeeaarrss::
SMEAR 1
GGrraaddiinngg--11 
66//110000VVFF
SSmmeeaarr--22
GGrraaddiinngg--22 
11++
SSmmeeaarr-- 33
GGRRAADDIINNGG--33 
2+
SSmmeeaarr--44
GGRRAADDIINNGG--44 
88//110000VVFF
SSmmeeaarr--55
GGrraaddiinngg--55 
33++
SSmmeeaarr--66
GGrraaddiinngg--66 
22++
SSmmeeaarr--77
GGrraaddiinngg--77 
11++
SSmmeeaarr--88
GGrraaddiinngg--88 
11++
Microscopy smear examination 2014

Microscopy smear examination 2014

Editor's Notes

  • #5 An acceptable size of a smear should be approximately 1-2 cm×2-3 cm. One (1) horizontal line in a 1 x 2 cm smear or in a 2 x 3 cm smear would cover about 100 to 150 visual fields.