[Histonet] Re: Helicobacter controls

[RSRICHMOND <@t> aol.com]

Lee and Peggy Wenk asked about Helicobacter stain controls.

Every lab I've ever worked in just used its positive slides as controls, and 
I've found that to be satisfactory. The toluidine blue (e.g. Diff-Quik) stains 
don't really need controls. In labs where the histotechs never look at a 
slide, it's common to find that the control isn't positive - I sign these out as 
"with a suitable control" for regulatory purposes. - The IHC of course requires 
a control.

Rather rarely these days, you get a gastrectomy specimen that's positive, and 
one of these would give you controls for the rest of your life - look for 
them.

Helicobacter heilmanii (AKA Gastrospirillum hominis) has the same IHC 
reactivity as H. pylori - there's literature about this - it's more common in Japan 
than in the USA.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville TN