Because the correct diagnosis of indeterminate leprosy (IL) requires the finding of acid-fast bacilli in skin lesions from clinically and histopathologically suggestive cases, it is necessary to develop a reliable method for this purpose. This paper presents a simple procedure, available to every general laboratory, which consists in obtaining 2 suspensions: SI, by mincing and grinding the tissue in phosphate-buffered saline; and SII, after treating SI with NaOH solution and digesting with trypsin. In 22 IL skin biopsies, bacilli were directly observed in only 3 with the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain; and with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method it was impossible to differentiate between nonspecific precipitate and true positive reactions. In contrast, 18 positive results from the same 22 samples were obtained when both SI and SII were evaluated with ZN stain. The logarithmic bacterial index was also increased in at least 7 cases.
BT - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene C1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3068861?dopt=Abstract DA - 1988 DO - 10.1016/0035-9203(88)90174-5 IS - 3 J2 - Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. LA - eng N2 -Because the correct diagnosis of indeterminate leprosy (IL) requires the finding of acid-fast bacilli in skin lesions from clinically and histopathologically suggestive cases, it is necessary to develop a reliable method for this purpose. This paper presents a simple procedure, available to every general laboratory, which consists in obtaining 2 suspensions: SI, by mincing and grinding the tissue in phosphate-buffered saline; and SII, after treating SI with NaOH solution and digesting with trypsin. In 22 IL skin biopsies, bacilli were directly observed in only 3 with the Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) stain; and with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method it was impossible to differentiate between nonspecific precipitate and true positive reactions. In contrast, 18 positive results from the same 22 samples were obtained when both SI and SII were evaluated with ZN stain. The logarithmic bacterial index was also increased in at least 7 cases.
PY - 1988 SP - 492 EP - 4 T2 - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene TI - Demonstration of acid-fast bacilli in skin biopsies from indeterminate leprosy cases. VL - 82 SN - 0035-9203 ER -