Silver Staining for Spirochetes in Tissues: Rationale, Difficulties, and Troubleshooting

Abstract

the Coulter method is inefficient in these situations. We compared the RE on peripheral blood smears with the Coulter count, as well as the manual new methylene blue stain. The highest agreement was between the new methylene blue and the RE results at 83% of the cases. The least agreement was with the Coulter count at only 51%. The advantage of the estimate is simplicity. The RE provides an alternative for doing reticulocyte counts by flow cytometry, Coulter, or the laborintensive new methylene blue technique in certain situations. Emergency situations where the RE might be helpful include discerning between a hyperproliferative anemia versus a hypoproliferative state. Reticulocytes can be accurately estimated on a routine peripheral blood smear without the need of expensive automated equipment. This estimate is an excellent indicator of erythropoiesis for emergency room doctors. The advantages of this method are that it is simple, fast, economical, and easily learned. A patient with anemia can be quickly categorized as hypoproliferative or hyperproliferative.