Diagnostic yield of stains for infectious organisms in esophageal or gastroesophageal junction biopsies with esophagitis

Stains frequently performed to exclude infectious etiologies in esophagitis include Grocott methenamine silver (GMS) and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) as well as immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays for cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV). The diagnostic yield of these tests, in this situation, has not been well studied. We retrospectively reviewed 261 esophageal biopsies, which had one or more of the above tests performed. The diagnostic yield for GMS and PAS was 8%, while CMV and HSV immunohistochemistry had a diagnostic yield of 1% and 0%, respectively. Our study suggests that routine use of ancillary labeling techniques in esophagitis biopsies may be of limited utility and have low diagnostic yield.