Further evaluation of immunocytochemical staining in the diagnosis of early myocardial ischaemic/hypoxic damage.

The pattern of immunocytochemical staining with antibodies to caeruloplasmin, myosin, myoglobin and C-reactive protein seen in myocardium taken from deaths with macroscopic evidence of myocardial infarction and/or significant coronary artery atherosclerosis and from deaths with neither of these lesions has been correlated with H&E, PTAH and HBFP staining of myocardium and circumstances of each death indicative of antemortem hypoxia and/or ischaemia. Loss of staining with these antibodies correlated well with fuchsinorrhagia and both techniques are more sensitive than H&E and PTAH staining in the detection of early ischaemic/hypoxic damage to myocardium. However, their sensitivity is such that they appear to detect agonal changes and, therefore, cannot be used for specific diagnosis of early myocardial infarction.

Immunocytochemical diagnosis of early myocardial ischaemic/hypoxic damage.

The sensitive and reliable dinitrophenyl (DNP) hapten sandwich staining (DHSS) procedure (B. Jasani et al., Virchows Arch (Pathol.