Evaluation of Efficacy of Microwave Staining over Conventional Staining in Replicating Tissue Architecture: A Prospective Study

INTRODUCTION: The use of microwave in the field of diagnostic pathology has gained a huge response in recent times. Use of domestic microwave ovens in the same is being widely studied. Unveiling the use of the microwave in improving the staining quality of tissue sections in the field of pathology can aid in precise diagnosis of complex conditions. AIM: The main aim of this study was to study the efficiency of microwave staining to reproduce the tissue architecture compared to that of conventional staining techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty different tissue blocks (including 10 mucocele tissue blocks) were used to prepare 30 pairs of slides for three different stains, namely hematoxylin and eosin, Van Gieson’s, 0.1% toluidine blue and periodic acid–Schiff and 10 pairs of slides for mucicarmine stain. From each pair of slides, one slide was stained routinely, and the other was stained inside a microwave. Two pathologists evaluated the stained slides, and the results so obtained were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: Microwave staining considerably cut down the staining time from hours to seconds. Microwave staining showed no loss of cellular and nuclear details, uniform staining characteristics, and was of excellent quality. CONCLUSION: The microwave stained slide showed no significant difference in terms of cell outline clarity, cytoplasmic staining, nuclear outline, nuclear staining, nuclear chromatin, and staining intensity compared to that of routine staining method, and a significant difference was observed in the total staining time consumed by all the stains that were used.