Evaluation of the use of Acetoorcein, Hematoxyilin and Eosin stains in the pulpal tissue and buccal mucosal cells for Barr body identification.

Background: Barr body (BB) evaluation using special stains in various cells has now become a widely accepted technique for human gender identification, particularly for mass screening of the victims of various disasters. Among the various special stains used, recently Aceto Orcein (AO) is suggested to be a better tool in BB identification. Aims: To evaluate 1) the efficiency of AO and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining in identifying BB in pulpal cells and buccal mucosal cells. 2) Reliability of using buccal mucosal cells and pulpal cells in identifying gender. Materials and Methods: The sample size of the study was 30 (15 males and 15 females). Buccal scrapings and pulp tissue taken from the extracted tooth of these subjects were stained with AO and H&E. Two observers blinded with respect to gender of the samples gave the scores. Samples detected with more than five BBs were identified as females. The study was unblindfolded, readings were tabulated and submitted for statistical analysis. Results: The number of BBs identified in AO stained buccal cells ranged from 8-18 for females and 0-6 for males while when H&E was used it ranged from 6-14 for females and 0-5 for males. In pulpal cells, the range was 5-14 for females and 1-5 for males when stained with AO and 7-15 for females and 0-4 for males when stained with H&E. The sensitivity and specificity of AO and H&E for detecting sex accurately in buccal cells was 96% and 93%, respectively. In pulpal cells, it was 67% and 73%. However, usage of AO for detecting BBs was statistically found to be more significant (sig: 0.004) than H&E, when the cells employed were grouped together as a single variable. Conclusion: * AO was found to be more efficient in identifying BBs when buccal cells were used, while in pulpal cells H&E was more efficient. * Among the two type of cells employed here, identification of BB was easier in buccal cells which may be due to adequate cellularity. * Use of pulpal cells for BB detection though difficult and statistically less significant, highlights the possibility for its application in forensic grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]