Title: Comparison of efficacy of various stains and immunohistochemistry in diagnosis of amoebic colitis

Authors: Dr Suman Dhakar, Dr Preeti Diwaker, Dr Monika Sharma, Dr Sandip Barman, Dr Kiran Mishra

 DOI:  https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i1.137

Abstract

Background: Amoebic colitis is a common parasitic infection especially in developing countries. It’s a devastating disease and should be diagnosed accurately. This study was designed to analyse  compare efficacy & reliability of Haematoxylin & Eosin (H&E), Periodic  acid  schiff’s (PAS), Masson trichrome (MT)and immunohistochemical (IHC) marker in diagnosis of amoebic colitis, and to ascertain advantages and disadvantages of each stain used in amoebic colitis.

Material & Methods: We studied 30 cases reported as amoebic colitis on H&E and 10 cases of non-specific colitis. The pick-up rate of trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica in H&E, PAS, MT and IHC was compared.

Observation & Results: Out of 30 cases reported as amoebic colitis on H&E, trophozoites were identified in 26 cases of fresh H&E stained slides, in 23 cases with PAS, in 15 cases with MT and 20 out of 30 cases were positive for trophozoites on IHC. Number of trophozoites identified was 5 times on IHC and 2 times on PAS in comparison to H&E. Whereas role of MT was found to be less significant in diagnosing amoebic colitis.

Conclusion: IHC was found to be superior in offering accurate diagnosis of amoebic colitis as it is highly efficacious and gives intense brown colour which makes recognition of trophozoites easier. Our study results suggest that by using IHC marker for amoebic colitis, even complicated cases can be diagnosed easily where they are difficult to be identified using other stains. Another advantage of using IHC is that it curtails false positive diagnosis of amoebiasis on H&E.

Keywords: Amoebic colitis, Immunohistochemistry, Masson’s trichrome, Periodic acid schiff’s.

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Corresponding Author

Dr Preeti Diwaker

Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, 4th Floor, UCMS & GTB Hospital,

Dilshad Garden, Delhi - 110095

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Mobile No. : 09971675078