[Histonet] Re: One step trichrome kits

[Bob Richmond]

About the only use the working surgical pathologist has for trichrome
stains these days is to evaluate fibrosis in liver biopsy specimens, nearly
always for hepatitis C.

For this purpose I need a blue trichrome stain that will stain fine fibrous
tissue brightly and intensely. I've seen one-step kits that did this, and
also seen a great many that didn't. I think the kits probably go bad with
age.

Distasteful though the task may be, the histotechnologist really must check
the liver biopsy slides each time the stain is run.

The control should be surgical or autopsy liver, normal, or better with
slight fibrosis. Not uterus or bowel.

One-step kits for muscle biopsy frozen sections are a different issue. I
used to brew the Gomori-Engel-Cunningham brew myself - it lasted about a
week - but haven't done them since 1970, and can't comment on kits. I also
haven't seen kits for general-oversight trichromes such as the
hematoxylin-phloxine-safffron (HPS) technique, if there are any labs still
doing it.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Maryville, Tennessee