Culture & Sensitivity – Stool:
Why Culture and Sensitivity – Stool Test?
CLINICAL INFORMATION
A routine stool test is performed to examine for hidden occult blood, fat meat fibres, bile, WBCs, sugars etc (fecal sample as a tool of evidence of a medical condition). This test result helps in diagnosing medical conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, gastric or colon cancer etc. While, a stool culture is a test on a fecal sample specimen is performed to identify the causative agent on a culture medium (inoculation of fecal swab) for growth to identify that infection like bacteria like Campylobacter species, Salmonella species, Shigella species, viruses, fungi etc (example presence of Egg, ova, spores, cyst, parasites like roundworm, flatworm, hookworm, tapeworm etc) leading to gastroenteritis. This test result may vary depending on the age, gender (sex), health history, type of tests conducted for diagnosis, travel history (Vibrio species, Escheria coli, Yersinia entercolitica, Pleisomonas, Aeromonas, Entamoeba histolytica etc). This test helps the physician to diagnose the harmful microbial pathogenesis of the intestine (enteric pathogen) eg.botulism. The cause includes consuming contaminated food or water infected (food or waterborne illness) with harmful microbes, parasites etc. Thus stool culture test helps detect to diagnose typhoid fever, enteric fever, bacillary dysentery, salmonella infection etc. Some of the clinical manifestations include food poisoning also called stomach flu (undercooked eggs/meat or improperly processed foods), fever, occult blood or mucin in stools, severe stomach ache and cramps, severe diarrhoea that lasts for more than few days, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, loss of fluids and electrolytes, a hemolytic uremic syndrome caused due to toxin producing strain of entero-hemorrhagic E.coli (destruction of RBCs and kidney failure) etc. This test may be ordered over a period of time if infection gets worse. Complications due to untreated chronic enteric infections can lead to the severe symptom of dehydration, electrolyte imbalance etc. Other tests include CBC, CRP and ESR (inflammation), widal test, microscopic examination for gram stain, other stool tests to examine egg, cyst, ova, spores, parasites test for bacterial toxins, viral antigen stool test, Clostridium difficile test – toxin, shiga like toxin test by enzyme immunoassay, trypsin/chymotrypsin test, Campylobacter culture test, H.pylori antigen test, urine culture, abdominal ultrasound, abdominal CT Scan, contrast enema X-ray, PCR etc.
General Instructions:
Sample Requirement: Specimen – Stool. Test Preparation: None.
NOTE - Sample for specimen collections may vary based on the patient’s condition/cases according to the patient’s presenting complaints/signs or symptoms:
SPECIMEN REQUIREMENT (Special or Rare Cases) - As instructed and guided by Physician / Clinician / Pathologist / as per Laboratory’s requirements, according to procedures and protocols.
Sample Requirement: Stool
Test Preparation: None
This Multi-Specialty Clinical Referral Laboratory RT DIAGNOSTICS provides precise and accurate tests with an extensive range of testing services to the medical centres to help in the diagnosis and identification of pathology in the test specimens for infectious diseases and also to evaluate the function of organ systems of the patient. It prevents further complications and helps to stabilize and restore health to near normalcy at the earliest without delay.
