Reliability of histological staining methods in the detection of Helicobacter pylori: comparison of three staining methods.

Objective: A reliable diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is important in clinical practice and research. The aim of this study was to evaluate some quality parameters of two histological staining methods routinely used for the histological identification of H. pylori microorganism. Materials and methods: Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), Modified Giemsa and Gimenez stains were used for the staining of histological sections prepared from 45 gastric biopsies taken from adult patient attended at Khartoum teaching hospital for gastrointestinal endoscopy for evaluation of gastroduodenal diseases. Modified Giemsa stain results was used as a reference for the calculations of sensitivity, accuracy ratio and Negative predictive value (NPV) for H&E stain compared to Gimenez stains. Results: Out of 45 processed gastric biopsies, H.pylori was identified in 12(27%) sections stained with Modified Giemsa stain, 9(20%) with Gimenez stains and 6(13%) with H&E stain. In reference to Modified Giemsa stain results, the sensitivity, and accuracy ratio and NPV of the Gimenez stain were (75%, 93.3and 91.7) compared to (50 %, 86.6% and 84.6%) for H&E stain. Conclusion: Our study concluded that the performance of Gimenez stain in detection of H.pylori in tissue section was quite better than H&E. Although no statistical difference but Gimenez stain appears to be preferred stain for H.pylori detection based on it is good sensitivity, excellent accuracy and negative predictive value.