Feces are the end product of human life. Incoming food travels a long way from the oral cavity to the large intestine, where it is formed in feces. In each of the departments and organs of the digestive tract, a number of complex biochemical reactions are observed, knowing which a specialist, even by the appearance of feces, can tell a lot about the digestive ability of each organ of the gastrointestinal tract and existing pathologies.
After all, excrement contains undigested food debris and fiber, water and metabolic products, bacteria and fragments of epithelium from various parts of the intestine, coloring fecal pigments, blood, enzymes, digestive juices and much more.
Stool analysis is prescribed as part of a general diagnostic study to detect diseases:
A stool examination is prescribed if there is a suspicion of: 
And this is not the entire list of diseases that are not only diagnosed, but also observed during general therapy.
Typically, at the first visit, the patient complains of pain in the abdomen, constipation or diarrhea, excessive gas formation and bloating, cramps, colic, blood and mucus in the stool.
To quickly identify the pathogen in case of poisoning, a general stool test is also prescribed.
For children, such diagnostics are carried out in case of allergic reactions, suspicion of helminths, or any other digestive disorders.
Preparation for submitting stool for coprogram takes several days. It is not particularly difficult, but if you want to get accurate results, you still need to follow some simple rules. Then the laboratory will be able to see the most accurate picture of the state of the digestive tract.
Preparatory measures are, first of all, following a special diet aimed at cleansing the intestines. Feces should be free of food and dietary fiber.
The diet should be balanced and consist of a ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
For these purposes, two diets have been developed and are most often used.
Provides for the consumption of up to 3 thousand kilocalories per day. The diet is allowed to include:
Here, fewer daily calories are allowed - only 2400. And the products are mainly dairy, including eggs and butter. The following is also allowed:
Meals are fractional, in small portions, 5-6 times a day.
Often stool examinations need to be done quickly and there is not much time to prepare. In this case, at least 24 hours before collecting feces, you must not drink alcoholic beverages, tea or coffee.
If you are having a stool occult blood test:
It should be remembered that during the menstrual cycle it is necessary to wait with the diagnosis, as after a colonoscopy or x-ray using a contrast agent.
A few simple tips on how to correctly submit feces for coprogram will increase the chances of diagnostic accuracy:
Sometimes for analysis it is necessary to collect feces during the day. In this case, you need to store the already collected material in the refrigerator.
If a child has already learned to use a potty, then it will be quite easy to do, just like an adult.
Just a few rules for accurate analysis:
Collecting feces from a newborn has its own characteristics. If he is breastfed, then the mother must also follow a certain diet for several days:
It is best to collect feces from a diaper. If this is not possible, then take it from above without touching the surface.
If the stool is too loose, place an oilcloth under the baby's bottom, and only then collect the feces from it.
If constipated, give a light massage or insert a gas tube.
All tools, like the mother’s hands, must be clean.
In infants, stool coprogram is often the most informative analysis, the results of which are sufficient to verify that the child has dysbiosis.
In older children, it is also accompanied by the detection of helminths - pinworms or worms.
Today, such an analysis can be done not only at the local clinic. There are many specialized laboratories and clinical centers where you can go with or without a doctor's referral. One of them is the Invitro laboratory, where coprogram or coproctology are presented, which, in fact, are the same stool analysis.
The maximum duration of the study is 6 days, but usually it is 1-2 days, the price is 500 rubles. How much analysis is done depends on the specific medical center.
A form is issued with the results of micro-, macro- and chemical studies, which are deciphered by the doctor.
Before going anywhere, ask about the timing, price, and reviews of other patients.
Macroscopic analysis of stool allows you to determine:
The normal range of stool examined visually will show the following results:
Although food eaten the day before the test or medications taken may change the appearance of stool, small deviations from the norm are considered acceptable.
After the macroscopic, visual examination, the laboratory assistant conducts a chemical examination of the excrement.
What it shows:
The norm is from 6.87 to 7.64, neutral or slightly alkaline.
From 5.49 to 6.79 – acidic, the absorption of fatty acids in the intestine is impaired.
Less than 5.49 – sharply acidic, fermentation occurs in the intestines, a reaction to lactose.
From 7.72 to 8.53 – alkaline, fermentation of proteins due to the abuse of meat products.
From 8.55 – sharply alkaline, rotting processes in the thick and sometimes in the thin sections.
Often the presence of blood cannot be determined visually or even using a microscope. The chemical method allows you to recognize red blood cells, the hidden content of which indicates:
Often the analysis is false positive due to improper preparation: meat and fish, sausages in the diet, medications with iron that the patient did not stop taking, injury to the gums when brushing teeth, donating feces during menstruation.
Normally it should not be detected.
A positive reaction is inflammatory processes in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract:
Acute pancreatitis is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, pain under the ribs, bloating, gas, and a sharp foul odor of feces.
Soluble protein also says:
Its appearance in the feces of a newborn who is breastfed is considered normal. This substance gives stool a greenish or brown color and ideally appears in them only as breakdown products, for example, stercobilin. Otherwise indicates:
The breakdown product of bilirubin is found in bile and a small amount is excreted along with it from the duodenum.
The norm is 75 to 100 mg of this substance per 100 g of feces.
Reduced content with:
Increased content:
Shows how well the food consumed is digested.
Muscle fibers– remains of undigested meat dishes. Normally, altered fibers are present. An unchanged appearance indicates a pathology of the pancreas, in which an insufficient amount of digestive juice is produced or its composition changes. As a result, food is not digested or digested poorly.
This may also mean:
Connective tissue fibers– residues of meat products are normally absent. The presence indicates:
Plant fibers– Fiber can be soluble or insoluble.
Insoluble is excreted in feces in the form of peels of fruits and vegetables, grain shells, and legumes. This is the norm and promotes the removal of toxins, waste, and the rapid movement of waste products through the intestines.
Starch– normally absent, completely recycled. Detection in the form of grains indicates increased peristalsis, too rapid movement of the food bolus, high absorption, lack of enzymes and is caused by:
Iodophilic flora– causes fermentation in the intestines. Determined by staining with iodine and the acidity of feces from 5 to 6.5. Indicates a violation of the microflora, the presence of pathogenic microorganisms that interfere with the digestion of food.
Neutral fat– with a healthy gastrointestinal tract, it is absorbed almost completely, so it is not included in the study. Excess indicates problems with the pancreas, blockage of its ducts and pathologies of the duodenum caused by:
Detritus- a mixture of digested food with bacteria and epithelial cells. Normally it should be present in excrement. Low levels are associated with digestive disorders and inflammatory processes in the intestinal mucosa, especially if blood or mucus is present.
Leukocytes– Normally they are not detected during analysis in a healthy person. The presence indicates pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract:
Red blood cells– are not normally contained. The presence indicates bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract from other internal organs.
Fat, fatty acids, salts of these acids– normally absent. An increased content indicates insufficient bile synthesis, pancreatic diseases, and diarrhea.
Ammonia– normal content is from 20 to 40 mol/kg. Deviation towards increase – inflammatory processes and rotting of food debris in the intestines.
Pathogenic microorganisms– normally, dysentery bacillus, trichomonas, lamblia and balantidia are absent.
Worm eggs, yeast, fungi, pathogenic bacteria– talk about the presence of helminthic infestation or candidiasis.
Coprogram: deciphering the norm for adults in the table:
Analysis of stool for scatology in children is not much different from that in adults. Although there are some differences, especially in newborns and babies under one year old. This is due to the characteristics of age and nutrition - immature gastrointestinal tract, breast or artificial feeding:
Coprogram in children: deciphering the norm in the table:
Any abnormalities in a child’s stool analysis do not always indicate pathologies. Only a doctor will decide whether they are symptoms of a disease or whether this condition is normal for your baby.
Microscopic examination of stool
Microscopic examination of feces makes it possible to determine the smallest remains of food, by which one can judge the degree of its digestion. In addition, microscopic examination of stool determines:
blood cellular elements: leukocytes, erythrocytes, macrophages;
intestinal epithelium;
tumor cells;
mucus;
Based on microscopic examination of stool, the doctor can judge:
About the process of digestion of various food components;
About the nature of the secretion separated by the intestinal wall;
Normal Microscopy of an unstained stool specimen can reveal:
detritus– small particles of various sizes, which are unrecognizable remains of food substances, cells and bacteria;
well-digested muscle fibers(in small quantities);
connective tissue fibers, and also elements are indigestible. I eat. oh connective tissue(remains of bones, cartilage and tendons);
elements of indigestible plant fiber.
From the book Your Family Doctor. Interpretation of tests without consulting a doctor by D. V. Nesterov From the book Your Family Doctor. Interpretation of tests without consulting a doctor by D. V. Nesterov author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Analyzes. Complete guide author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Analyzes. Complete guide author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Analyzes. Complete guide author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Analyzes. Complete guide author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Analyzes. Complete guide author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Complete reference book of analyzes and research in medicine author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Complete reference book of analyzes and research in medicine author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Complete reference book of analyzes and research in medicine author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib From the book Complete reference book of analyzes and research in medicine author Mikhail Borisovich Ingerleib author Elena V. Poghosyan From the book Learning to understand your analyzes author Elena V. Poghosyan From the book Learning to understand your analyzes author Elena V. PoghosyanFeces, like urine, are the end product of human life. It is formed in the large intestine as a result of a number of biochemical processes. Feces include water, undigested food debris, metabolic byproducts, bacteria, and so on.
Do not underestimate stool testing. Sometimes it is this analysis that makes it possible to identify pathologies of the digestive tract, liver disease, and pancreas in adults and children. This examination is prescribed not only for the purpose of diagnosing diseases, but also to monitor the treatment being carried out.
What a coprogram (stool analysis) shows:
Preliminary preparation for submitting the material for children and adults normally lasts 3-4 days. It is aimed at cleansing the intestines and preventing food debris, muscle and plant fibers from entering the feces. With special training, laboratory assistants will be able to detect even a small degree of disruption of the evacuation and digestive functions of the digestive tract.
The essence of preparation is to follow a special diet with a certain content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Two types of diets are suitable for this purpose: according to Pevzner and according to Schmidt.
It involves eating black and white bread, meat (boiled or fried), sauerkraut, rice and buckwheat porridge, fresh apples, potatoes (in any form), and butter. The total energy value is about 3000 kcal per day.
She is gentle. It is recommended to eat 5 times a day, mainly dairy products (milk, butter), a couple of eggs, meat, potatoes, oatmeal (mucus broth). Daily caloric intake should be limited to 2200-2400 kcal.
If you urgently need to get tested or your health condition does not allow you to follow a diet, it is recommended not to drink alcoholic beverages, tea, or coffee for at least 24 hours.
The material should be collected in a clean container after spontaneous bowel movement in the morning. 10-15 g of feces is enough for the study. In rare cases, your doctor may order a 24-hour stool test. In this case, the patient must collect stool for 24 hours.
If the patient suffers from prolonged constipation and cannot empty himself, it is recommended to massage the colon. If this procedure does not bring results, the patient should undergo a cleansing enema. In this case, a solid piece of feces is taken from the washing water.
Analysis collection method:
When examining for worm eggs
the material must be completely fresh, that is, delivered to the laboratory warm.Stool sampling for bacteriological examination
performed with the help of a laboratory assistant. The patient is asked to lie on his right side or lean forward while standing. The laboratory assistant spreads the patient's buttocks and inserts a metal loop with a cotton swab wrapped around it into the anus. The insertion should be carried out with rotational movements, very carefully so as not to damage the mucous membrane of the anus. The loop is also carefully removed, then placed in a sterile test tube.
Norm of indicators |
Microscopic examination |
||
|
Dense |
|
None |
|
Decorated |
|
Single |
| Brown |
|
None | |
|
Unsharp, specific feces |
|
|
|
From 6.01 to 8.01 |
|
|
|
Small quantity |
|
Small quantity |
|
None |
|
Single fibers |
|
|
Absent | |
|
Positive |
|
Small number |
|
Negative |
|
None |
|
|||
|
|||
The volume of bowel movements depends on the amount of food eaten and its quality composition. For example, if a person eats meat or dairy products, the amount of feces decreases. Plant foods, on the contrary, increase its volume. Pathological reasons for changes in the amount of feces in the table:
Stool of a dense consistency and shaped (sausage-shaped) is considered normal. Loose, unformed stools are called diarrhea. This condition is usually accompanied by increased bowel movements and polyfecal loss. Diarrhea occurs:
The peculiar ribbon-like shape of feces can be caused by spasms in the rectum and sigmoid colon. When the evacuation of food from the intestines is impaired, a person experiences constipation. In this case, feces become hard, dense, similar to sheep balls. Its hardness is due to excessive absorption of water.
Normal stool is brown in color. This is due to the presence of stercobilin in it, a breakdown product of bilirubin, which is secreted into the intestines with bile. The change in color of the material may be due to various factors:
| Stool color | What is the reason |
| Light yellow | Occurs when consuming large amounts of dairy products. |
| Bright yellow | The reason is the accelerated evacuation of food from the intestines (diarrhea of infectious and non-infectious origin) or treatment with medications from hay. |
| Dark brown (pleiochromia) |
|
| Black (tarry) – melena |
|
| Greenish | Eating a lot of lettuce, asparagus, celery, sorrel. |
| In the form of "rice water" | Transparent stool with flakes is observed with cholera. |
| In the form of "pea soup" | Such material indicates the presence of typhoid fever in the patient. |
| Red, reddish | Occurs when bleeding from the lower intestines (rectum and colon). |
| Discolored, clayey (acholic) | Feces lose their color due to the cessation of stercobilin entering the intestines. This happens when:
|
| Light |
|
Normal stool has a mild, specific odor. This is due to the processes of bacterial fermentation that occur in the intestine. During the breakdown of proteins, indole, skatole, phenol and cresol are formed, and they form the odor of feces.
Reduces odor
stool with a plant-based diet and constipation, and increases with a meat diet and diarrhea.Strong foul odor
speaks of putrefactive processes in the intestines. The sour aroma of excrement indicates the presence of an increased amount of fatty acids (propionic, butyric).Normally, the stool should not contain blood, mucus, undigested food remains, stones, helminths, and so on. Their presence indicates a pathological process in the gastrointestinal tract.
| Impurity | What does it mean |
| Lumps of undigested food |
Normally, feces may contain small bones, peels of vegetables and fruits, cartilage, cucumbers, and nuts. |
| Fat | This may occur due to insufficient pancreatic function. In this case, the feces become shiny, ointment-like, with white lumps. |
| Mucus |
Normally, a small amount of mucus is allowed in the stool. Its abundance indicates inflammatory processes in the intestine, both infectious (dysentery, salmonellosis) and non-infectious (ulcerative colitis). Mucus may be mixed with stool or located on its surface. |
| Blood |
The release of small portions of blood is usually invisible to the human eye and can only be detected by microscopic examination. An admixture of scarlet blood indicates bleeding from the lower intestines or from the initial sections, if motility is increased. |
| Pus | Pus appears in feces during severe inflammatory pathologies (dysentery, intestinal tuberculosis), rupture of an abscess into the intestinal lumen, or suppuration of a tumor. |
| Worms | Some helminths (whipworms, pinworms, roundworms) can be excreted in the stool entirely or in fragments. |
| Stones | Coprolites (fecal stones), gallstones, pancreas. |
In a healthy person with a normal diet, feces have a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction (pH 6.87-7.64). Change in stool pH:
Hidden blood is called blood that is not visible to the human eye (macroscopically) and under a microscope. Normally, the reaction can be positive if you eat meat, fish, blood sausage, iron supplements, vigorously brush your teeth, or get menstrual blood into your stool. Pathologies that cause the appearance of blood in feces:
Normally, the reaction to protein is always negative. It can be positive when:
Stercobilin is a breakdown product of bilirubin, which gives stool a brown color. It is secreted into the duodenum with bile. Normally, 100 g of feces contains 75-100 mg of stercobilin. Changes in the content of stercobilin in stool can occur in various diseases:
Bilirubin can normally be detected in the stool of a breastfed infant. It gives feces a greenish color. In an adult, only bilirubin breakdown products are excreted in feces. Detection of bilirubin in stool occurs when:
| What is discovered | What pathologies does it indicate? |
| Muscle fibers with and without striations (creatorhoea) |
|
| Connective tissue (connective tissue fibers) | It is detected when there is a deficiency of pepsin in gastric juice and diarrhea. The detection of bones and cartilage in the stool is not a pathology. |
| Plant fiber |
|
| Starch |
|
| Fat and its products (fatty acids, salts of fatty acids) |
|
| Intestinal epithelium (squamous and columnar) |
|
| Leukocytes | Neutrophils:
|
| Red blood cells | Their detection indicates bleeding into the lumen of the digestive tract. |
| Crystal formations | Human feces may contain:
|
| Protozoa |
|
| Worm eggs | In cases of helminthiasis, whipworm, roundworm, and pinworm eggs are released in feces. |
| Bacteria and fungi |
Bacteria found in feces can be pathological (Escherichia coli, Proteus) or part of the normal microflora (lacto- and bifidobacteria). Among fungi, the detection of Candida mycelium is of diagnostic importance. |
Analysis of stool in children of such a young age has a number of features. At birth, the baby’s intestines are not yet sufficiently developed and are not adapted to receiving regular adult food. Therefore, proper feeding is a very important factor in the development of a baby.
In the first days of life, the baby receives all the necessary microelements, nutrients and vitamins through mother's milk. Also, during feeding, the baby's intestines are contaminated with lacidobacteria and bifidobacteria, which are necessary for the production of feces.
If a pediatrician orders a baby to undergo a stool test, the mother must follow a certain diet for 2-3 days, since what the mother eats must enter the baby’s body with milk.
Features of mommy's diet (see):
However, the mother cannot always provide the baby with enough milk. Recently, infants are starting to be supplemented with formula feeding from the first months or are immediately transferred to artificial feeding.
The coprogram for natural and artificial feeding of children may differ. No matter how balanced the formula is, it will never replace breast milk in quality. This is also reflected in the functioning of the baby’s digestive system, the product of which is feces.
| Options |
When feeding formulas |
When feeding with milk |
| Daily amount | Up to 35-45 grams | The normal amount is considered to be 45-55 grams |
| Color | Light brown | Yellow with a greenish tint (this color is due to the presence of bilirubin in the stool, which is considered normal) |
| Smell | More putrid | More sour |
| pH | Slightly alkaline (7.58-7.74) | Slightly acidic (5.52-5.89) |
| Fats and fatty acids | Drops of neutral fat | Fatty acids and their salts (provide acidic stool) |
| Mucus | None or small amount | |
| Blood | Absent | |
| Leftover undigested food | Possibly a small amount due to immature intestinal microflora | |
| Reaction to stercobilin | Positive | |
| Reaction to bilirubin | ||
| Reaction to protein | Negative | |
| Reaction to occult blood | ||
| Muscle fibers | Possibly in small quantities | |
| Leukocytes | In small quantities | |
| Intestinal epithelium | ||
| Red blood cells | None | |
Prescribed to determine the condition and function of the digestive organs. Such a stool examination helps to identify the presence of inflammatory and infectious lesions of the digestive system in a child. Also, using a coprogram in the stool, you can detect hidden blood (to diagnose internal bleeding) and worm eggs.
To be able to decipher the coprogram, you should know what characteristics of the stool are being examined and what their normal values are. Note that in a small child, the type of feeding affects the characteristics of feces.
|
Indicator |
Breastfed infants |
Formula-fed infants |
Children over one year old |
|
Quantity (grams per day) |
From 100 to 250 |
||
|
Yellow, possible greenish or mustard tint |
Brown or yellow |
Brown |
|
|
Consistency |
Pasty |
Putty-like |
Decorated (sausage-shaped) |
|
A little sour |
Pronounced, putrid |
Specific fecal, but not harsh |
|
|
pH value (acidity) |
From 4.8 to 5.8 (slightly acidic) |
From 6.8 to 7.5 (slightly alkaline) |
From 6 to 8 (slightly alkaline) |
|
May be detected in low quantities |
|||
|
Leukocytes |
May be isolated |
May be isolated |
Single |
|
Stercobilin |
From 75 to 350 mg per day |
||
|
Bilirubin |
Must be missing |
||
|
Ammonia (in mmol/kg) |
Not defined |
Not defined |
|
|
Muscle fibers |
Can be detected in small quantities |
Can be detected in small quantities |
Not detected |
|
Not detected |
Not detected |
Not detected |
|
|
Soluble protein |
Not detected |
Not detected |
Not detected |
|
In small quantities |
In small quantities |
In small quantities |
|
|
Connective tissue fibers |
Not detected |
Not detected |
Not detected |
|
Digestible fiber |
Not detected |
Not detected |
Not detected |
|
In different quantities |
In different quantities |
In different quantities |
|
|
Not detected |
Not detected |
Not detected |
|
|
Fatty acids |
In low quantities, represented by crystals |
Not detected |
|
|
Neutral fat |
In the form of drops |
In small quantities |
The volume of stool can be influenced by the baby’s diet - if he eats more plant foods, the volume of stool may increase, but when eating food of animal origin, on the contrary, the volume of stool decreases.
Possible causes of pathological changes in stool volume are:
The color of the stool is affected by both the child’s diet and the use of medications.
|
Color |
Possible reasons |
|
Brown (dark shade) |
|
|
Brown (light shade) |
|
|
|
|
Light yellow |
|
|
Yellow bright |
Rapid evacuation of feces from the intestines (diarrhea). |
|
|
|
With a red tint |
|
|
Greenish black |
|
|
Whitish gray |
|
|
Colors of rice water |
|
|
Pea soup colors |
Typhoid fever |
The consistency of stool is determined by the amount of liquid in the child's stool. Approximately 70-75% of the discharge is water, and the rest is cells from the intestines, food debris and dead microorganisms.
Normal fecal odor is specific, but not pungent. It is caused by fermentation processes caused by normal bacterial flora in the intestine. The smell becomes weaker if the child has constipation or a plant-based diet, and if there is too much meat in the diet or diarrhea, the smell becomes stronger.
Presence of a foul, pungent odor suggests that putrefactive processes predominate in the intestinal lumen.
Strong sour smell of baby's stool indicates an increase in the amount of fatty acids in the stool.
The acid-base state of feces is associated with the bacterial flora living in the intestine. If bacteria are in excess, the pH of the stool shifts to the acidic side. Also, such a shift is typical for excessive consumption of carbohydrate foods.
If a child consumes a lot of proteins or has diseases associated with impaired protein digestion (as a result, putrefactive processes in the intestine may increase), then the acidity becomes more alkaline.
Epithelial cells in the intestines normally produce mucus to help move baby stool through the digestive tract. In the stool of a healthy child, visible mucus occurs only in the first 6 months of life when feeding with human milk.
In other cases, the presence of visible mucus in the stool indicates:
Normally, such cells enter the child’s feces in small quantities and can be represented in the field of view of the microscope up to 8-10 pieces. An increase in the number of white blood cells in the stool is characteristic of infectious and inflammatory lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. Read more about leukocytes in the feces of children in another article.
To determine pathology, the type of leukocytes is also important:
This bile pigment is responsible for the normal color of stool. It is formed in the colon from bilirubin. The amount of stercobilin is determined in older children. When it increases, feces are called hypercholic. Such stool is characteristic of increased bile secretion and hemolytic anemia.
If stercobilin in stool is less than normal, such stool is acholic. It is characteristic of hepatitis, pancreatitis and gall bladder problems.
This pigment normally enters a child’s feces only at an early age, especially during breastfeeding. It gives stool a greenish tint. In children over one year old, only the decay products of this pigment are excreted in their feces.
If bilirubin is detected in the stool, this may confirm problems with the intestinal flora (often dysbacteriosis after using antibiotics). Bilirubin is also detected during diarrhea, since feces are quickly evacuated from the intestines.
Such fibers appear in feces as a result of the digestion of foods of animal origin. Normally, when the digestive function is not impaired, a very small number of muscle fibers enter the feces, and they lose their cross-striations.
If this indicator is increased (this phenomenon is called creative rhea), then the child may have:
Usually, blood should not be detected in a child's stool. It may appear in visible amounts in feces if:
If blood enters the stool in small quantities, it may not be visible externally, but is detected by the reaction to occult blood. If the reaction is positive, then it indicates the presence of:
If such inclusions are detected in stool, although they are not found normally, then the cause may be:
This type of inclusion is normally present in small quantities in children's feces and represents residues from the digestion of fats.
If there is no soap in the feces, then the function of fat processing in the digestive tract is impaired. This happens when:
If such fibers were found in children's feces, they indicate problems with digesting food of animal origin. Possible causes may be gastritis with reduced secretory function or pancreatitis, as well as diarrhea.
In stool analysis, only the presence of fiber, which is digested in the intestines, is taken into account. Normally, this type of dietary fiber should be absent, unlike fiber, which is not digested (it is found in feces and indicates the consumption of plant foods).
Digestible plant fiber is detected in the stool when:
This is the name given to the part of feces represented by digested food, microbes and epithelial intestinal cells. The higher this indicator is in the coprogram, the better the child digests food.
This type of carbohydrate, found in cereals, fruits and vegetable dishes, should normally be absent from feces. If it is found in the stool, then the child may have:
They are a product of fat digestion. And if in babies up to one year old such acids may be present in the feces, then in older children their detection indicates:
A small amount of it is acceptable for analyzing the stool of children in the first year of life, since their enzyme system is not yet fully developed. Older children should not have neutral fat in their stool, since it is completely processed by the body to produce energy. If neutral fat is found in the child’s stool, the reasons will be the same as when fatty acids are detected in the stool.
The presence of larvae, segments and eggs of helminths is detected during helminthiases, and the presence of Giardia in the feces indicates giardiasis. There may be pus in the stool if there is an abscess or suppuration in the intestines.
Stool analysis is an important tool in studying diseases and the functioning of the digestive system. In particular, stool examination allows you to determine the condition of such organs as: liver, stomach, pancreas, and the small and large intestines themselves. And although this test is not as common as a blood or urine test, the results obtained during its conduct allow your doctor to get a fairly detailed picture of the state of your health, the causes of any diseases of the digestive system and, consequently, prescribe the most suitable treatment for you.
| Age and type of feeding | ||||
| Analysis indicators | Breast-feeding | Artificial feeding | Older children | Adults |
| 40-50 g/day. | 30-40 g/day. | 100-250 g/day. | 100-250 g/day. |
| sticky, viscous (mushy) | putty-like consistency | Decorated | Decorated |
| yellow, golden yellow, yellow green | yellow-brown | brown | brown |
| sourish | putrefactive | Fecal, not sharp | Fecal, not sharp |
| 4,8-5,8 | 6,8-7,5 | 7,0-7,5 | 7,0-7,5 |
| absent | absent | absent | |
| absent | absent | absent | absent |
| absent | absent | absent | absent |
| present | present | 75-350 mg/day. | 75-350 mg/day. |
| present | present | absent | absent |
| 20-40 mmol/kg | 20-40 mmol/kg | ||
| Various quantity | Various quantity | Various quantity | Various quantity |
| Small quantity or none | absent | absent | |
| absent | absent | absent | absent |
| absent | absent | absent | absent |
| absent | absent | absent | absent |
| Drops | Small quantity | absent | absent |
| Crystals in small quantities | absent | absent | |
| In small quantities | In small quantities | Minor amount | Minor amount |
| single | single | Single in the preparation | Single in the preparation |
There are a number of cases when stool may have a different consistency:
Fluctuations in the acid-base state of the intestines and feces, in turn, are influenced by the state of the intestinal bacterial flora. If there is an excess of bacteria, the pH can shift to the acidic side to pH-6.8. Also, with a large consumption of carbohydrates, the pH may shift to the acidic side due to the possible onset of fermentation. With excessive consumption of proteins, or with diseases affecting the digestion of proteins, putrefactive processes may occur in the intestines, which can shift the pH to the alkaline side.
