The practice of routine upfront use of special stains in biopsy specimens with minimal or no inflammation has not been evaluated. This study was conducted to determine the value of special stains for Helicobacter pylori in gastric biopsy specimens showing variable degrees of inflammation and to evaluate the practice of upfront ancillary staining of all mucosal biopsy specimens.
Immunohistochemical or Diff-Quik stains were done on sections of 570 gastric biopsy specimens. The rates of positivity for H pylori were calculated in each category based on the degree of inflammation and classified as normal, minimal, mild, moderate, or severe.
H pylori was not detected in 386 (67.7%) biopsy specimens that were classified as normal (6.0%) or with minimal inflammation (28.2%) or mild inactive gastritis (33.5%). The organism was identified by Diff-Quik or immunohistochemical stain in 76 (89.4%) of 85 with moderate active gastritis and 30 (93.8%) of 32 biopsy specimens showing severe active gastritis.
Upfront staining of gastric biopsy specimens is not cost-effective since a significant proportion of the gastric biopsy specimens were normal or showed minimal inflammation; in none of these biopsy specimens was the organism found. Special stains should be performed only in selected biopsy specimens that reveal any degree of chronic active gastritis or moderate inactive gastritis.