Identification of helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsies of patients with chronic gastritis : histopathological and immunohistochemical study

Abstract EN

Background and objectives Different methods have been used for detection of Helicobacter pylori in patients with chronic gastritis but a little has been written about immunohistochemistry.

The study done was to identify Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsies of patients with chronic gastritis using the routine stains and immunohistochemistry.

Methods In a twelve month period, from April 2008 to May 2009, 105 cases of chronic gastritis were studied.

The routine hematoxylin and eosin stain and modified Giemsa stains “Sheehan’s modified may method” and immunohistochemistry “automated staining machine from Ventana Company” were performed.

Results Chronic gastritis cases (n=105) included 35 (33.3%) mild, 51 (48.6%) moderate, and 19 (18.1%) marked inflammation.

Active form gastritis was detected in 76 (72.4%) cases, glandular atrophy in 40 (38.1%) cases, and intestinal metaplasia in 19 (18.1%) cases.

The routine hematoxylin- eosin and modified Giemsa stains gave 20 (19%) false positive and 13 (12.4%) false negative results.

The sensitivity and specificity of the routine stains were 77.6% and 57.4% respectively while their positive and negative predictive values were 69.2% and 67.5 % respectively with 68.6% accuracy.

Conclusion Although Helicobacter pylori can be readily demonstrated by the routine hematoxylin-eosin/modified Giemsa stains, the high rates of false negative and false positive results necessitate the routine application of immunohistochemistry for all chronic gastritis cases.