Basic fuchsin picric acid method to detect acute myocardial ischemia. An experimental study in swine.

Application of the hematoxylin basic fuchsin-picric acid method to human postmortem myocardium specimens failed to show reproducible results. Therefore, controlled animal studies utilizing the method were undertaken. Myocardial ischemia was induced in swine by ligation of the anterior descending coronary artery for periods of 30 minutes to six hours. Electron microscopy was used to monitor normal and ischemic myocardium. Reproducible results were not obtained by staining successive slides of the same block at the same time or at different times, whether stained in the same reagent bath or after changing the reagent solutions. Fresh, frozen, unfixed material also yielded nonreproducible results. The method in its present form is unreliable for routine use in the diagnosis of early myocardial ischemia.