Refractive index matching applied to fecal smear clearing

Thick smears of human feces can be made adequate for identification of helminth eggs by means of refractive index matching. Although this effect can be obtained by simply spreading a fleck of feces on a microscope slide, a glycerol solution has been routinely used to this end. Aiming at practicabili...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 2005-11, Vol.47 (6), p.347-350
Main Author: Ferreira, Claúdio S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Feces - parasitology
Helminths - isolation & purification
Humans
Parasite Egg Count - methods
Refractometry
Reproducibility of Results
Specimen Handling - methods
Sucrose
TROPICAL MEDICINE
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Summary:Thick smears of human feces can be made adequate for identification of helminth eggs by means of refractive index matching. Although this effect can be obtained by simply spreading a fleck of feces on a microscope slide, a glycerol solution has been routinely used to this end. Aiming at practicability, a new quantitative technique has been developed. To enhance both sharpness and contrast of the images, a sucrose solution (refractive index = 1.49) is used, which reduces the effect of light-scattering particulates. To each slide a template-measured (38.5 mm3) fecal sample is transferred. Thus, egg counts and sensitivity evaluations are easily made.
ISSN:0036-4665
1678-9946
0036-4665
1678-9946
DOI:10.1590/S0036-46652005000600007