Quantitative and Semi-quantitative Methods for Assessing the Degree of Methylene Blue Staining in Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Dogs.

ABSTRACT: Background: To develop a digital algorithm for quantitative assessment of surface methylene blue staining in whole lymph nodes and validate a semi-quantitative visual scoring method for patient-side use. Methods: Lymph nodes from canine patients with spontaneous tumors undergoing sentinel lymph node mapping were prospectively assessed ex vivo and photographed. Using an open-source computer-based imaging software, an algorithm was developed for quantification of staining based on a signal-to-background ratio. Next, two blinded observers evaluated images and assigned a semi-quantitative visual score based on surface staining (0-no blue stain, 1-1-50% stained, and 2-51-100% stained) and those results were compared to the established quantitative standard. Results:

SUBMITTER: Ram AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8567073 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature