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Special Stains (special + stain)
Selected AbstractsMinocycline hyperpigmentation isolated to the subcutaneous fatJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 7 2005Zakia Rahman We present a 15-year-old girl with bilateral lower extremity discoloration of one-year duration while taking minocycline for acne vulgaris. The clinical characteristics best supported type II minocycline hyperpigmentation, but the histology revealed that the pigmentation was solely limited to the subcutaneous adipose tissue, completely sparing the dermis. Special stain for iron was negative. This is the first case to our knowledge with pigment exclusively located in the subcutaneous fat and with the unusual finding of a negative stain for iron. [source] ,1-Antitrypsin deficiency presenting with panniculitis and incidental discovery of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2007Gretchen Korver MD A 60-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with large, painful, indurated plaques on the right thigh, left abdomen, left chest, and right chest, which began without any preceding trauma on the right thigh 3 weeks prior to presentation in the ED. He was initially treated with cefazolin 1 g three times daily as home infusions. When the lesions continued to progress, he was admitted to the hospital and placed on amoxicillin/clavulanate and vancomycin. He had a single episode of fever of 102°F, but his white blood cell count and differential remained normal. An initial biopsy showed a dermal inflammatory infiltrate composed primarily of neutrophils and eosinophils with rare flame figures in the dermis. There was minimal fat seen in this biopsy. A differential diagnosis of Wells or Sweet's syndrome was entertained, and he was placed on 60 mg/day prednisone with no resolution of his symptoms. The patient's past medical history included hypertension, hyperlipidemia, peripheral neuropathy, and hiatal hernia. His family history was significant for emphysema in both parents and coronary artery disease in his father. Both of his parents smoked cigarettes. His grandfather, who was a coal miner, also had emphysema. Whilst on antibiotics and prednisone, the plaques on the patient's right thigh, right abdomen, and left chest expanded and ulcerated, draining an oily liquid (Figs 1 and 2). An incisional biopsy was obtained from his thigh. Histopathology showed a septal and lobular panniculitis with fat necrosis, neutrophils, and histiocytes (Fig. 3). Special stains for organisms were negative. Tissue sent for bacterial and fungal culture had no growth. Amylase and lipase levels were normal. Rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody (ANA), antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA), cryoglobulins, and antiphospholipid antibodies were all normal. The ,1-antitrypsin level was low at 25 mg/dL (ref. 75,135). The ,1-antitrypsin phenotype was PiZZ. Figure 1. Indurated plaques on right chest and thigh and left chest Figure 2. Ulcerated plaques on left chest Figure 3. Septal and lobular panniculitis with fat necrosis. Hematoxylin and eosin ×10 The patient had a normal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase level and was placed on dapsone 200 mg/day. The inflammation resolved and, over the course of several months, the involved areas healed with scarring. The patient denied any pulmonary complaints but, during his hospitalization, was found incidentally to have an oxygen saturation of 88% on room air. He was sent for evaluation by a pulmonologist, and pulmonary function tests revealed a mixed restrictive and obstructive pattern with a forced expiratory volume in 1 to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) ratio of 63% of predicted. He had never smoked. He was placed on supplemental oxygen but, as his pulmonary disease has been stable, he has not been treated with intravenous antitrypsin inhibitor. [source] Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia , an unusual reaction following tattoo: report of a case and review of the literatureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2007Wei Cui MD A 59-year-old woman presented with an itchy and uncomfortable raised lesion at a tattoo site (Fig. 1) on the lateral aspect of the left leg, just above the ankle. The tattoo had been placed 2 years before her presentation and the tattoo site was sun exposed. Immediately after she had the tattoo, she noticed redness of the skin. After a week, a pruritic and red scaly nodule developed that continued to gradually enlarge until her presentation. The patient had tried topical vitamin A and D ointment with no relief. The patient also had tattoos on the arms without any noticeable skin changes. The patient reported that the tattoo procedure on her leg was more painful than that on her arms, and was performed by a different (and perhaps inexperienced) tattoo artist. The original tattoo contained red, green, and yellow pigments. Figure 1. Raised nodular lesion with irregular margins A diagnosis of tattoo granuloma was considered; squamous cell carcinoma and fungal infection were included in the differential diagnosis. A punch biopsy was performed, followed by complete surgical excision of the lesion with a split-thickness skin graft from the right thigh. The skin excision specimen showed a 3 × 2.5-cm granular and pitted pink lesion with well-demarcated, somewhat irregular borders. The lesion was raised 0.5 cm above the skin surface. The lesion was present in the center of the original tattoo. Portions of the original tattoo with green and blue,green pigmentation were visible on either side of the lesion. No satellite lesions were identified. Microscopically, the raised lesion demonstrated striking pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia, with irregular acanthosis of the epidermis and follicular infundibula, hyperkeratosis, and parakeratosis (Fig. 2). Follicular plugging was present with keratin-filled cystic spaces. There was a brisk mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis, composed primarily of lymphocytes, with admixed plasma cells and histiocytes. Giant cells were occasionally identified. Dermal pigment deposition was noted both within the lesion and in the surrounding skin, corresponding to the original tattoo. Variable dermal fibrosis was noted, with thick collagen bundles in some areas. There was no evidence of epidermal keratinocytic atypia, dyskeratosis, or increased suprabasal mitotic activity. Special stains (periodic acid,Schiff and acid-fast) for microorganisms were negative. Figure 2. (a) Raised lesion with marked pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia and follicular plugging (hematoxylin and eosin; magnification, ×2.5). (b) Irregularly elongated and thickened rete pegs with blunt ends associated with dermal chronic inflammation (hematoxylin and eosin; magnification, ×5). (c) Follicular dilation and plugging with keratin-filled cystic spaces (hematoxylin and eosin; magnification, ×5). (d) Dermal pigment and fibrosis (hematoxylin and eosin; magnification, ×10) [source] Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman DiseaseJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2005L. Lin Rosai-Dorfman disease, or sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML), is a rare benign disease of unknown etiology that involves the cervical lymph nodes. Histologic findings include emperiopolesis of lymphocytes and S-100 protein positivity. Extranodal involvement occurs in 30,40% of cases, often involving skin. However, cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease without lymph node involvement is uncommon. We describe a case of cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease and discuss its clinical and histopathologic findings. A 69-year-old Caucasian male presented with a two-year history of a slowly enlarging violaceous mass on the mid-upper abdomen. He had a history of renal cell carcinoma two-year ago and was asymptomatic without any systemic symptoms. Physical examination revealed a large, violaceous mass of mid-upper abdomen with several violaceous nodules surrounding the periphery. There was no palpable lymphadenopathy. Punch biopsy showed diffuse dermal infiltrates composed of central xanthomatous cells surrounded by lymphoplasmacytic cells. Focal germinal center was noted. Immunostaining revealed strong S-100 and CD68 reactivity of central xanthomatous cells and kappa and lambda polyclonal lymphoplasmacytic cells. Special stains for infectious disorder were negative. Cutaneous Rosai-Dorfman disease is a benign reactive process, often under-recognized due to lack of systemic symptoms and lymphadenopathy. A high index of diagnostic awareness is required for its recognition. [source] Cicatricial alopecia: classification and histopathologyDERMATOLOGIC THERAPY, Issue 4 2008Najwa Somani ABSTRACT: Primary cicatricial alopecias are a diagnostically challenging group of disorders characterized by folliculocentric inflammation resulting in destruction of hair follicles and irreversible hair loss. They are classified according to a consensus-issued classification scheme based on the predominant cell type present: lymphocytic, neutrophilic, or mixed. Histopathology is a pivotal component of the diagnostic evaluation. Early diagnosis is critical since timely institution of treatment can halt progression of permanent hair loss. Salient histopathologic findings are presented in this review, along with adjunctive clues derived from interpretation of special stains and direct immunofluorescence studies. Despite careful evaluation, accurate diagnosis may remain elusive in some instances. The primary cicatricial alopecias often share overlapping features. The highest diagnostic yield is procured when histology is correlated with the clinical presentation. [source] Liesegang rings in fine needle aspirate of breast cysts with predominance of apocrine cells: A study of 14 casesDIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 10 2008F.I.A.C., Raj K. Gupta M.D. Abstract Fine needle aspirate (FNA) from 14 cases (age range 17,84 years), with Liesegang rings (LR's) in breast cysts seen over a period of 26 years comprised the material of this study from more than 38,000 FNA's of the breast which had been done for a variety of breast lesions. In six of the 14 cases, the aspirate was obtained under ultrasound guidance whereas in the remaining cases it was collected from a palpable lesion. The aspiration was performed using a 22 gauge needle and the syringe and needle contents were washed in a cytology container with 30% ethyl alcohol in physiologic saline. The cytologic preparations from half of the sample were made on a 5 micron Schleicher and Schuell filter and stained by Papanicolaou method whereas from the remainder of the sample a cell block was made and sections cut, stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and used for immunohistochemical study. Filter preparations and cell blocks revealed cyanophilic, spherical, ring-like structures of various sizes and shape mostly with double walls, and striations with amorphous material in the lumen and under polarized light were nonrefractile. Seen also were several apocrine cells and some macrophages and the LR's were found to be negative on immunostains for EMA and CK, and a panel of other special stains (Table I). Since LR's can be mistaken for ova, larvae, or parasites, it is important to be aware of their potential presence in aspirate samples of breast cysts to avoid a misdiagnosis. The exact mechanism of formation of LR's is not fully understood and certain views as proposed are discussed in this presentation. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2008;36:701,704. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Mass-forming extramedullary hematopoiesis diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytologyDIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 12 2006Maria Luisa C. Policarpio-Nicolas M.D. Abstract Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is usually a microscopic finding. However, it may present as a mass-forming lesion making it amenable to fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). When mass-forming EMH occurs, it can simulate a neoplasm clinically and radiologically. Additionally, the megakaryocytes can mimic malignant neoplastic cells, particularly if EMH is not a considered diagnosis. We report six cases of mass-forming EMH diagnosed by FNAB and evaluate the utility of FNAB in diagnosing EMH. Four patients had prior diagnoses of hematologic disorders, one patient had malignant mastocytosis who presented with lymphadenopathy and one patient had a history of carcinoma. The patients' ages ranged from 46 to 78 yr with an equal sex distribution. Aspirate smears showed trilineage hematopoiesis. The cytomorphologic differential diagnosis included metastatic carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloid sarcoma. No special stains were necessary due to the classic cytologic findings and prior hematologic history. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2006; 34:807,811. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cytologic spectrum of 227 fine-needle aspiration cases of chest-wall lesionsDIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2001Amit Goel M.D., D.N.B. Abstract This study was carried out with the objective of studying the cytomorphology of the wide variety of chest-wall lesions. Two hundred twenty-seven chest-wall lesions were studied over a period of 4 yr. Routine May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) and hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) slides were studied along with special stains, whenever required. The malignant lesions comprised 36.13% of all cases (81/227). Of the 126 benign lesions, the majority were inflammatory in nature (68/126), the next commonest lesion being lipoma (38/126). Rare cases of tuberculosis involving the sternum, epithelioid leiomyosarcoma, and neuroendocrine tumors involving ribs, malignant nerve sheath tumors involving the chest wall, metastatic carcinoma of the stomach and prostate, and papillary carcinoma thyroid are reported in this series. Histopathology was available in 24 cases, and hematological correlation in one case. A 100% cytohistological and cytohematological correlation was found, with no false positives or false negatives. In conclusion, fine-needle aspiration cytology is a rapid, diagnostic tool, eliciting many interesting lesions in the chest wall. It is useful not only in detecting primary and metastatic lesions, but also in follow-up of tumor recurrence. Diagn. Cytopathol. 24:384,388, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Pulmonary pathology in patients with AIDS: an autopsy study from MumbaiHIV MEDICINE, Issue 4 2001DN Lanjewar Objective Although India has a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, the associated pathologies responsible for morbidity have not been evaluated previously in a representative study. Hence, an autopsy study was carried out to analyse the spectrum of pulmonary lesions in patients with HIV/AIDS. Methods A retrospective and prospective autopsy study was carried out during 1988,2000 at Mumbai, India. Lungs from 143 adults, with at least 10 sections from each case, were examined using routine and special stains. Results The risk factors for 97 men (68%) and 38 women (27%) included: heterosexual sex with multiple partners (135 cases, 95%); blood transfusions (three cases; 2%); sex between men (two cases; 1%); and unknown risk factors (three cases, 2%). Pulmonary pathology was observed in 126 (88%) cases. The lesions identified were tuberculosis (85 cases, 59%), bacterial pneumonia (26 cases, 18%), cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection (10 cases, 7%), cryptococcosis (eight cases, 6%), Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (seven cases, 5%), aspergillosis (four cases, 3%), toxoplasmosis (two cases, 1%), Kaposi's sarcoma (one case, 1%), squamous cell carcinoma (one case, 1%). Two or more infections were observed in 18 (13%) cases. Conclusions Pulmonary diseases and risk factors among patients with AIDS in India differ from those reported in industrialized countries. Tuberculosis was the most frequently observed pulmonary infection, followed by bacterial pneumonia and CMV pneumonitis. In contrast with industrialized countries, PCP remains less common in our patients. The information on opportunistic infections obtained in this study will be useful for managing HIV/AIDS cases at district level hospitals where diagnosing specific HIV-associated diseases is not always possible. [source] Tinctorial Properties of Zygomycosis in Cutaneous Biopsy SpecimensJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 1 2005A. Rubin It is a little known fact that the organisms causing Zygomycosis are often better visualized with routine Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) staining than Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) staining. Experienced dermatopathologists, when evaluating histologic samples suspected of harboring deep fungal infection often rely more heavily on PAS staining to detect fungi. The diagnosis of Zygomycosis may be delayed or missed entirely if sufficient attention is not devoted to the H and E stained specimen. A review of multiple dermatopathology textbooks shows there is no universal agreement on the usefulness of routine H and E staining versus use of special stains for the detection of Zygomycosis. Grocott's Methanamine Silver (GMS) staining can give false negative results if background staining of reticulum fibers is enhanced. This can occur because of overexposure in silver solution, excessive heat during processing, or use of incorrectly titrated solutions. Three consecutive culture proven cases of cutaneous Zygomycosis infection were evaluated. In each case, organisms were clearly visualized on routine H and E sections while PAS staining was variable. Examples of false negative GMS staining are also shown. Recognition of these staining properties can help dermatopathologists better detect the agents of Zygomycosis. [source] An unusual dematiaceous fungal infection of the skin caused by Fonsecaea pedrosoi: a case report and review of the literatureJOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003Sate H. Hamza Background:, A case of an unusual dematiaceous fungal infection of the skin in a 43-year-old man with diabetes mellitus treated with steroids for reactive airway disease is presented. He developed chromoblastomycosis in the left wrist and was treated with antifungals and multiple surgical excisions. Results:, Histologic examination of the excised tissue revealed widespread suppurative granulomatous inflammation in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. Thick-walled internally septated brown fungal cells were found both inside multinucleated giant cells and extracellularly. Non-to-lightly pigmented septate hyphal elements, however, were also identified with special stains and, in retrospect, on one of the routinely stained sections. In culture, the organism was reported to initially grow as soft white colonies that soon turned to black and velvety. Conclusions:, The two unusual features of this case include the controversial report of the organism's initial growth in culture as soft white colonies and the presence of hyphal elements in addition to the sclerotic bodies in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue. This has not been reported before in human cases of dermal infection by Fonsecaea pedrosoi. [source] Extra-departmental anatomic pathology expert consultation inTaiwan: A research grant supported 4-year experienceJOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Chih-Yi Hsu MD Abstract Background This report analyzed a research project supported nationwide expert consultation of anatomic pathology in Taiwan. Methods The data were collected from the requisitions and consultation reports of 2,686 cases in this project from 2003 to 2006. The number of cases, tissue origin, additional special stains, turnaround time (TAT), concordance, discordance, referring pathologists, and consultants were analyzed. Results Skin, hematopoietic system, and bone and soft tissue were the most common (48.3%) specimens sent for consultation. The tentative diagnosis and consultation diagnosis were discordant in 1,074 (64.3%) cases. Major discrepancy was seen in 205 (12.3%) cases, of which 66.8% were changed from malignant to benign, 21.0% were changed from benign to malignant, whereas 12.2% were changed from one category of malignancy to another. Additional special stains were performed on 38.7% of cases and hematology specimen was the most frequent. The mean TAT was 3.4 days. Pathologists working in institutes having fewer pathologists sent more cases for consultation. The opinion of the estimated annual consultation rate from the pathologists in Taiwan was 0.7%. Conclusions This program was beneficial simply by helping the referring pathologists in the workup and diagnosis. This result made the entire program a reasonable quality improvement program. J. Surg. Oncol. 2010; 101:430,435. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] |