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Introduction of a Fluorescence‐microscopic Technique for the Detection of Eggs, Egg Shells, and Mites in Scabies
Author(s) -
Bhutto Abdul Manan,
Honda Minoru,
Kubo Yorjiro,
aka Shigeo,
Yoshida Hikotaro
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1346-8138
pISSN - 0385-2407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1346-8138.1993.tb03844.x
Subject(s) - scabies , fluorescence , fluorescence microscope , microscope , mite , microscope slide , potassium hydroxide , biology , microscopy , pathology , dermatology , optics , medicine , ecology , botany , physics
A technique using the fluorescence microscope can prove helpful in the laboratory diagnosis of scabies. Specimens from fifteen patients with scabies were used in this study. All of the specimens were embedded with glycerine instead of potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution. The specimens were examined at 0 min, 30 min, 1 hr, 6 hrs, 24 hrs, and one week after mounting under light and fluorescence microscopes. Specimens embedded with non‐fluorescent glycerine were not clear immediately after mounting but became so after about 1 hr. Eggs and egg shells were easily counted in the specimens under the fluorescence microscope but were very hard to identify under the light microscope. Mites were absent in half of the specimens; only eggs and egg shells were present in those specimens found by the fluorescence microscope. The above findings suggest that the detection of egg shells by the use of fluorescence microscope may be helpful for the diagnosis of scabies, in particular with mite negative specimens. Slides prepared with non‐fluorescent glycerine were more stable and could be preserved for a long time. However, this method is time‐consuming and requires expensive equipment.