A triple stain for the detection of Helicobacter pylori in gastric brushing cytology.
OBJECTIVE
Helicobacter pylori is a surface bacterium associated with gastritis. The triple stain (TS), combining silver, hematoxylin and eosin, and alcian blue at pH 2.5, is valuable in the detection of H pylori in tissue. We evaluated the usefulness of TS as compared with Papanicolaou stain in detecting H pylori in gastric brushings and biopsy specimens.


METHODS
Gastric brushings and biopsy specimens were obtained from 21 patients. The Papanicolaou-stained slides were restained with TS, and the brushings and biopsy specimens were independently evaluated by the authors.


RESULTS
H pylori was found in 9 of 21 randomly selected cases using TS. Of these, two cases were positive on brushings alone and three on biopsy alone. Only three of the nine cases were positive by Papanicolaou stain. None of the 21 samples were positive with Papanicolaou stain yet negative with TS. Detection of H pylori was restricted to patients with gastric ulcerations but was not limited by paucity of glands.


CONCLUSIONS
TS is useful for detecting H pylori in gastric brushings and provides excellent cytologic detail. Furthermore, TS is superior to Papanicolaou stain for H pylori detection and is a valuable adjunct to biopsy.
Ghoussoub
R A
RA
Department of Anatomic Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8070, USA.
Lachman
M F
MF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013272:Stomach Diseases / Q000473:pathology
D004396:Coloring Agents