Immune Conditions / The Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis

submitted by Dr. Gary Farr Last Updated June, 25, 2004

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Marker of Inflammation

The fecal leukocyte test identifies the presence of lactoferrin, a marker for fecal leukocytes. This test is more sensitive than microscopy for identifying leukocytes and discriminates between inflammatory and non-inflammatory bowel processes.

Ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, and bacterial or parasitic infection will result in a positive result. Patients who have diarrhea on the basis of IBS, virus, and noninvasive parasites will have a negative result.⁸⁰

Macroscopic Observations

The color of feces provides important insight into various conditions.

• Light-brown to brown is normal
• Yellow or green suggests diarrhea or a bowel sterilized by antibiotics
• Black usually is the result of upper GI tract bleeding
• Tan or gray suggests blockage of the common bile duct, pancreatic insufficiency (greasy stool) or steatorrhea
• Red may be the result of lower tract bleeding

The presence of mucus or pus can indicate irritable bowel syndrome, intestinal wall inflammation (caused by infection—typhoid, Shigella or amoebic), diverticulitis or other intestinal abscess. Absence of mucus and pus is normal.

The CDSA also includes an occult blood test, which is a monoclonal antibody test that is highly specific for intact human hemoglobin. A positive result indicates blood loss from a lower GI source and warrants further imaging investigation.

Dysbiosis Risk Index

Intestinal dysbiosis is marked by many indicators. For our Dysbiosis Risk Index, relevant results are weighed and an index is calculated to provide a quick assessment of the patient’s GI tract in terms of flora imbalance. Factors used to determine the index include digestive, absorptive, metabolic, and microbiological markers.

Clinical Therapeutics

The CDSA’s battery of integrated tests evaluates digestion, colonic environmentand absorption. It enables therapeutic intervention based not only on single test results, but also on patterns and relationships.

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