Seven stains were studied to determine the best color and contrast for staining the developmental stages of free living pathogenic Acanthamoeba and Naegleria species. The acid-fast bacilli stain (AFB) produced a blue color without contrast; trichrome-eosin and modified Field's showed various color contrasts; Giemsa, iron-hematoxylin, modified AFB and Gram produced only one color which distingui...

Tuberculosis accounts for up to 4% of acute pericarditis and 7% cases of cardiac tamponade. Prompt treatment can be life saving but requires accurate diagnosis. We report a case of 30-year-old male who presented with fever, chills, and dry nonproductive cough since one month. The case was diagnosed by radiological findings, which were suggestive of pulmonary tuberculosis, followed by acid fast ...

We evaluated diagnostic yield of third sputum smear in patients co infected with HIV for detection of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Among 139 pulmonary tuberculosis cases confirmed with positive sputum culture, diagnostic yield of first smear of sputum with acid fast staining was 81.9%. Incremental yield of 2(nd) and 3(rd) samples was 11.7% and 6.3% respectively. So two sputum smears may be enou...

Three cases of primary band-shaped spheroidal degeneration of the cornea from two consanguineous families are reported. In all cases vision deteriorated slowly, the deterioration beginning in childhood. Photophobia in childhood was also a common symptom, and two patients suffered from intermittent painful sensations. The occupational and environmental histories had no bearing on the cases. Hist...

Isospora belli, an opportunistic protozoon, is one of the most commonly recognized causes of diarrhea in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Infection is acquired through fecal contaminated food or water, and generally diagnosed by examination of stool and/or duodenum biopsy specimens with acid-fast staining. Here, we present an uncommon case, chronic diarrhea caused by I. ...

We report the case of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis who, after 2 months of treatment with etanercept, showed disseminated asymptomatic violaceous papules. Biopsy of the skin lesion showed chronic granulomatous dermatitis with negative staining for fungi and acid-fast bacilli (AFB). After discontinuation of etanercept, the patient's condition improved. Although apparently paradoxical, case...

Using a preparation method composed of secondary chromic acid fixation, nitrocellulose embedding and Luxol fast blue-PAS-hematoxylin stain (a discriminative staining method) for the purpose of axonal discrimination, we examined 43 human spinal cords (31 males and 12 females) at the C5 level to find the differences due to gender and aging in axons of the lateral corticospinal tract. These result...

Methods This prospective study was done at NMC, Nellore from July 2008-December 2009. Samples received at microbiology lab for acid fast staining were included in this study. Smears were stained by Ziehl-Neelsen’s technique. Samples were cultured on Lowenstein-Jensen media after processing by modified Petroff’s method and incubated according to CLSI guidelines. Identification of Mycobaterium tu...