Stool (Feces) Samples Overview

A stool analysis is a series of tests done on a stool (feces) sample to help diagnose certain conditions affecting the digestive tract. These conditions can include infection (such as from parasites, viruses, or bacteria), poor nutrient absorption, or cancer.

For a stool analysis, a stool sample is collected in a clean container and then sent to the laboratory. Laboratory analysis includes microscopic examination, chemical tests, and microbiologic tests. The medical staff will check the stool for color, consistency, amount, shape, odor, and the presence of mucus.

The stool may be examined for hidden (occult) blood, fat, meat fibers, bile, white blood cells, and sugars called reducing substances. Researchers may also measure the pH of the stool. Doctors perform a stool culture to find out if bacteria may be causing an infection.

 

Purpose of Stool (Feces) Sample

Your doctor or a healthcare professional may ask you for a stool sample to help them analyze and diagnose or rule out a particular health condition.

Stool (feces) contains bacteria and other substances that are in the digestive system. By testing the levels of these substances and bacteria in the stool sample, it’s possible to analyze and find out what’s happening in your digestive system.

For example, a lab can test the stool (feces) samples to help diagnose the following:

Gastroenteritis

  • First, Gastroenteritis – a common condition that causes diarrhea and vomiting, and is usually the result of a bacterial or viral bug in the stomach.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Elevated Enzymes

  • Third, Help identify diseases of the digestive tract, liver, and pancreas. Certain enzymes (such as trypsin or elastase) may be evaluated in the stool to help see how well the pancreas is working.

Digestive Tract Symptoms

  • Moreover, Help find the cause of symptoms affecting the digestive tract, such as prolonged diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, an increased amount of gas, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, bloating, belly pain and cramping, and fever.

Colon Cancer Screening

  • Furthermore, Screen for colon cancer by checking for hidden (occult) blood.

Parasites

  • In addition, Look for parasites, such as pinworms or Giardia.

Infection

  • Also, Look for the cause of an infection, such as bacteria, a fungus, or a virus.

Malabsorption Syndrome

  • Finally, Check for poor absorption of nutrients by the digestive tract (malabsorption syndrome). For this test, clinicians collect all stool over a 72-hour period and then check it for fat (and sometimes for meat fibers). This test is a 72-hour stool collection or quantitative fecal fat test.

Preparation of Stool (Feces) Sample Collection

Many medicines can change the results of this test. You will need to avoid certain medicines depending on which kind of stool analysis you have.

You may need to stop taking medicines such as antacids, antidiarrheal medicines, anti-parasite medicines, antibiotics, laxatives, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for 1 to 2 weeks before you have the test.

Be sure to tell your doctor about all the nonprescription and prescription medicines you take.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you have:

  • Recently had an X-ray test using barium contrast material, such as a barium enema or upper gastrointestinal series (barium swallow). Barium can interfere with test results.
  • Traveled in recent weeks or months, especially if you have traveled outside the country. This helps your doctor look for the parasites, fungi, viruses, or bacteria that may be causing a problem.

If your stool is being tested for blood, you may need to avoid certain foods for 2 to 3 days before the test. This depends on what kind of stool test you use. And do not do the test during your menstrual period or if you have active bleeding from hemorrhoids. If you aren’t sure about how to prepare, ask your doctor.

Do not use a stool sample for testing that has been in contact with toilet bowl cleaning products that turn the water blue.

Collection of Stool (Feces) Sample

Stool samples can be collected at home, in your doctor’s office, at a medical clinic, or at the hospital. If you collect the samples at home, they will give you stool collection kits to use each day. Each kit contains applicator sticks and two sterile containers.

A doctor or another healthcare professional, such as a nurse, should explain how to collect the stool (feces) sample. Someone should collect it in a clean, dry screw-top container.

Procedure

You may need to collect more than one sample over 1 to 3 days. Follow the same procedure for each day.

Your doctor or a member of staff at the hospital will give you a plastic specimen container to use, although you can use any clean container as long as you can seal it.

To collect the sample:

  • Label a clean, screw-top container with your name, your doctor’s name, and the date you collected the sample.
  • Place something in the toilet to catch the stool (feces), such as empty plastic food container, or spread clean newspaper or plastic wrap over the rim of the toilet
  • Make sure the stool (feces) doesn’t touch the inside of the toilet
  • Use the spoon or spatula that comes with the container to collect the stool (feces), then screw the lid shut
  • If someone has given you a container, aim to fill around a third of it, that’s about the size of a walnut if you’re using your own container.
  • Place the plastic container you used to collect the poo in a plastic bag, so it can handed over to the health care professional for analysis.
  • Take the sealed container to your doctor’s office or the lab as soon as you can. You may need to deliver your sample to the lab within a certain time.
  • Any stool sample may contain germs that can spread disease. Make sure to carefully wash your hands with soap and use careful handling techniques to avoid spreading infection.

Follow any other instructions your doctor has given you.

Risks of Stool (Feces) Sample Collection

Sometimes a stool sample is collected using a rectal swab that contains a preservative. The swab is inserted into the rectum, rotated gently, and then withdrawn. It is placed in a clean, dry container and sent to the lab right away.

There is no pain while collecting a stool sample. If you are constipated, straining to pass stool may be painful.

If your health professional uses a rectal swab to collect the sample, you may feel some pressure or discomfort or pain as the swab is inserted into your rectum.

Results of Stool (Feces) Sample

Each lab has a different range for what’s normal. Your lab report should show the range that your lab uses for each test. The normal range is just a guide. Your doctor will also look at your results based on your age, health, and other factors. A value that isn’t in the normal range may still be normal for you.

A stool analysis may check values for pH, reducing factors, and fat.

Stool analysis test results usually take at least 1 to 3 days.

Abnormal Stool Test Values

  • High levels of fat in the stool may be caused by diseases such as pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, cystic fibrosis or other disorders that affect the absorption of fats.
  • The presence of undigested meat fibers in the stool may be caused by pancreatitis.
  • A low pH may be caused by poor absorption of carbohydrates or fat Stool with a high pH may mean inflammation in the intestine (colitis), cancer, or antibiotic use.
  • Blood in the stool may be caused by bleeding in the digestive tract.
  • White blood cells may be caused by inflammation of the intestines, such as ulcerative colitis, or a bacterial infection.
  • Rotaviruses are a common cause of diarrhea in young children. If diarrhea is present, testing may be done to look for rotaviruses in the stool.
  • High levels of reducing factors in the stool may mean a problem digesting some sugars.
  • Low levels of reducing factors may be caused by sprue (celiac disease), cystic fibrosis, or malnutrition. Medicine such as colchicine (for gout)  or birth control pills may also cause low levels.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC Samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human bio-fluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

  • Firstly, peripheral whole-blood
  • Secondly, amniotic fluid
  • Thirdly, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
  • Next, sputum
  • Also, pleural effusion
  • Moreover, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
  • Likewise, serum (sera)
  • In addition, plasma
  • Moreover, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) 
  • Furthermore, saliva
  • Next, buffy coat
  • Accordingly, urine
  • For example, Stool samples
  • Also, aqueous humor
  • And, vitreous humor
  • Lastly, kidney stones (renal calculi)
  • Finally, other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols. you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us in multiple format and sets.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.