A study of immunoperoxidase technique in the immunohistopathological diagnosis of autoimmune bullous diseases.

In a comparative study the conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining method was employed concomitantly with the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method in cases of bullous skin diseases. This study includes 40 cases of bullous diseases diagnosed on clinical grounds and confirmed by routine histology using conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining. Skin sections were stained by immunoperoxidase method for the purpose of detection of deposited auto-antibodies. Ten cases of non-bullous inflammatory dermatosis were used as controls for background staining. Our results show this technique to be very specific and sensitive in the histopathological diagnosis of autoimmune bullous diseases. It may be of particular value to the pathologist who often receives formalin fixed material and may help in diagnosing doubtful cases and also if retrospective immunopathology is required (JPMA 38:154 1988).