Selective staining of gastric biopsies for H. pylori does not affect detection rates or turnaround time and improves cost compared to reflexive staining

To evaluate how reflexive versus selective H. pylori stains affect detection rates, turnaround time (TAT), and cost savings in a real life practice environment following an institutional policy change.

The aforementioned parameters were evaluated in all cases in the year preceding and the year following an institutional policy change from reflexive to selective staining.

1497 patients comprised the reflexive stain (RS) group of which 228 (15.2%) were H. pylori positive. 1629 patients comprised the selective stain (SS) group of which 237 (14.5%) were H. pylori positive. There was no significant difference in H. pylori detection rates between the RS and SS groups (OR=0.95, 95% CI=0.78-1.15, p=0.59). TATs were similarly equivalent with a mean of 52.4h for the RS cohort and 53.7h for the SS cohort (p=0.344), both of which included a resident preview day. We calculated an average laboratory cost savings of $11.68 per case, which saved our department over $15,000 (37%) in the year following the policy change.

Our results support a policy of selective staining for H. pylori as opposed to reflexive staining and go on to show that laboratories that change their policy can expect to generate cost savings without compromising detection rates or TAT.