title: Counts of S-100 positive epidermal dendritic cells in Kveim test skin biopsies.
abstract: S-100 positive epidermal dendritic cells were counted in skin biopsies from 48 Kveim tests and four known foreign-body reactions. Counts in histologically positive Kveim biopsies (mean 11.3 per 200 basal cells) were significantly higher than in either negative biopsies (5.1; P less than 0.001) or foreign-body reactions (4.7; P less than 0.05). A similar difference was found, irrespective of the histological appearances, between biopsies from patients diagnosed clinically as having sarcoidosis (10.5) and those in which another diagnosis had been made (4.1; P less than 0.001). In biopsies from patients with sarcoidosis 70% had a positive Kveim test, 70% had a raised epidermal dendritic cell count and one or the other was positive in 90%. All cases in which both the Kveim test was positive and the dendritic cell count was raised had a final clinical diagnosis of sarcoidosis. Counts of S-100 positive epidermal dendritic cells are useful in differentiating positive reactions to Kveim suspension from non-specific reactions to foreign material and increase the diagnostic confidence of the Kveim test.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histopathology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fletcher
mesh_terms: D002452:Cell Count; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007731:Kveim Test; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009418:S100 Proteins