SOURCE:

Faculty: Health Sciences And Technology
Department: Medical Laboratory Science

CONTRIBUTORS:

Onyije, F. M;
Ngokere, A. A;

ABSTRACT:

The frequent occurrence of biopsies in the female genital tract has been of serious concern worldwide, especially in developing countries, because of the high rate of gynaecologic morbidity and mortality. The gold standard for the study and diagnosis of gynaecological biopsies of the female genital tract is primarily based on histological changes demonstrated by dye-tissue interaction to aid visibility of tissue components using histochemical dyes or the more recently immunohistochemical antibodies. This research was aimed at evaluating gynaecological biopsies from patients attending Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital Port Harcourt. By distinguishing the various patterns of gynaecological biopsies, their percentage area and intensity covered by dyes, prediction up to the year 2050 as well as to determine the frequency in Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH). A total of six hundred and ninety seven (697) gynaecological dataset and representative paraffin tissue blocks of patients diagnosed of gynaecological biopsies from 2010 to 2014 were collected from the archives of Histopathology Laboratory of BMSH, Port Harcourt. The tissues were sectioned and stained using Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E), Masson's Trichrome (MT), Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS), Phosphotungstic Acid Haematoxylin (PTAH) and Verhoeff Van Gieson (VVG); Cytokeratin (CKs) and cellular marker for proliferation (Ki67). Photomicrographs were analysed using imageJ for percentage area and intensity measurements. The distribution of the gynecological Biopsies (n=697) differed significantly (p<0.001) by year of diagnosis, developmental stage, age category and types. Leiomyoma had the highest number of Biopsies with 390 (56.0%), followed by ovarian cyst 70 (10.0%) and product of conception 56 (8.0%). It was estimated that the number of leiomyoma cases diagnosed will rise from 235 in 2015 to 1883 by the year 2050. This was followed by ovarian cyst with a prevalence rate of 0.124 and projected increase from 57 in 2015 to 461 by the year 2050. The biopsies, adenomyosis in MT (80%) and squamous cell carcinoma in PAS (80%) recorded the highest percentage area. Squamous cell carcinoma stained with MT was the most intense tissue with 55 point (pts), followed by Brenner tumour in PTAH (61 pts) and squamous cell carcinoma in PAS (69 pts). Leiomyoma, ovarian cyst and products of conception are the most prevalent gynaecological biopsies in BMSH and have been predicted to increase alongside other Biopsies. However, MT staining technique produced the best results in the % area of tissues covered and the intensity measurements.