Using cytology to check for Malassezia organisms

If, like me, you get frustrated using scotch tape in the Diff-Quik to check for Malassezia, I recently came up with a tip to avoid the tape going all soggy and cloudy in the fixative solution prior to staining.

Take the strip as normal, but stick it directly onto a microscope slide. Then, using a 1ml syringe, collect a small amount of the final purple stain and inject it directly under the tape. Leave for a few minutes and then examine under oil immersion as normal.

In my experience, this works just as well as the usual process.