Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: February | Volume: 8 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 5-12
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20210202
A Comparative Study between Conventional and Modified Leishman Stain
Rizwana Abdul Hye1, Bindiya Gisuthan2, Indira Kariveettil3
1Assistant Professor, Dept of MLT, Alshifa College of Paramedical Sciences, Perinthalmanna.
2Assistant Professor, Dept of Pathology, Govt Medical College, TVPM-11, Kerala.
3Assistant Professor, Dept of MLT, Govt Medical College, TVPM-11, Kerala.
Corresponding Author: Bindiya Gisuthan
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Leishman stain has been used as the stain of choice for peripheral blood films since many decades .But it has a disadvantage of consuming 15 minutes for the procedure alone thereby increasing the turn around time of peripheral smear reporting. In this study modified Leishman stain was made by adding phenol to conventional Leishman to reduce the staining time to 3 minutes without interfering with the quality of stain.
Aim: To study the quality of modified Leishman stain in comparison with conventional preparation on peripheral blood smears.
Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in Central Haematology laboratory of a tertiary health care centre in Southern India. A pilot study was done to determine the ideal ratio of phenol to Leishman powder in preparing modified stain without compromising the staining quality. After obtaining consent, the blood sample was collected in anticoagulated vials. Sample size was calculated to be 85.Two thin wedge smears were prepared from each sample and one was stained with conventional Leishman stain and other with modified Leishman stain. The staining characteristics were assessed and scored by an experienced pathologist in terms of 6 parameters- RBC pattern, nuclear pattern, neutrophil granules, eosinophil granules, platelets and background staining. The grades were 1, 2, 3 & 4 (poor, satisfied, good and excellent). Smears each with grades 2, 3 and 4 were selected for study. The results were analysed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16.0.
Result: The mean value for the staining quality using conventional method was 4.73 and for modified method was 5.39, and the total score possible is 6. Photomicrograph showed excellent results with modified Leishman stain. Thus from these values we can interpret that modified method gave much more acceptable results than that of conventional method.
Conclusion: Unlike the conventional method which requires a total of 15 minutes, to complete the staining process, modified Leishman staining techniques takes only 3 minutes. Blood films can be stained within a short period of time thus aiding in rapid diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Keywords: Leishman stain, Modified Leishman stain, Phenol.
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