Comparison of variants of carbon-fuchsin solution in Ziehl-Neelsen for detection of acid-fast bacilli.

Selvakumar, N.; Gomathi Sekar, M.; Rahman, F.; Syamsunder, A.; Duraipandian, M.; Wares, F.; Narayanan, P.R.

International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease; 2005; 9; 226-229.

Summary: To evaluate Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining using variants of carbol-fuchsin solution, duplicate smears from 416 samples were stained with ZN, one set with 1% basic fuchsin and the other 0.3%. Another set of duplicate smears from 398 samples were stained with ZN, one with 1% basic fuchsin and the other 0.1%. The coded smears were read and discrepancies resolved. All samples underwent mycobacterial culture. The sensitivity of ZN using 0.3% (65%) and 1% basic fuchsin (62%) was comparable, while it was reduced using 0.1% (74%) compared to 1% basic fuchsin (83%). Reducing the concentration of basic fuchsin below 0.3% in ZN staining was found to significantly reduce its sensitivity.

Keywords: pulmonary tuberculosis; Ziehl-Neelsen staining; carbol-fuchsin; AFB

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