Comparison of staining quality between rapid and routine hematoxylin and eosin staining of frozen breast tissue sections: an observational study

Objective To compare the staining quality between rapid hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and routine H&E staining of frozen breast tissue sections. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, 120 frozen breast tissue sections were randomly assigned to rapid or routine H&E staining ( n = 60 per group). Rapid H&E staining used a 7:1 mixture of modified Gill’s hematoxylin and alcohol-soluble 1% eosin Y. The staining quality of each section was evaluated and scored. A score of >7 was considered excellent, a score of 6 to 7 good, and a score of ≤5 poor. Results The staining time for rapid staining was approximately 3 minutes, whereas that of routine staining was approximately 12 minutes. There were no significant differences in the staining quality scores or proportions of sections in each grade between the two staining methods. The proportions of sections that were classified as excellent or good were 96.7% and 98.3% for rapid and routine staining, respectively. Conclusions In frozen breast tissue sections, rapid H&E staining may provide staining quality that is comparable to that of routine staining, while markedly reducing the staining time.