Coprological examination

A coprological examination or coprogram is a laboratory study of human stool for the purpose of diagnosing the work of organs, primarily the digestive tract.

Coprological analysis helps to evaluate:

• state of intestinal microflora;
• digesting capacity and enzymatic activity of the stomach, pancreas and intestines;
• work of the gallbladder;
• the rate of passage of food through the digestive tract;
• presence of inflammatory processes in the intestine;
• the presence of worms and their eggs or protozoa.

How to give a feces for a scatological examination?

The material for analysis is collected by the person himself, and in order for the results to be as accurate as possible, it is necessary to follow certain rules:

1. A sample of stool should be obtained with natural defecation. Do not use enemas (at least two days before taking the material) and taking laxatives (at least three days).
2. Before taking the test (2-3 days) it is advisable to refuse to take medications that can affect the composition of the feces. These drugs include activated charcoal (may affect the color of the stool), bismuth preparations, pilocarpine, any rectal suppositories.
3. It is advisable to observe a diet for several days, to limit the use of products that have laxative or fixing properties, which can cause increased gas formation or affect the color of the stool.
4. The collection of feces for coprologic examination is desirable to be carried out immediately before passing the sample to the laboratory. The less time passed after defecation, the more accurate the results will be. It is advisable that no more than 6 hours pass from the moment of sampling until it reaches the laboratory, as the microbiological composition may change, and this will affect the results.
5. The collected sample before putting it into the laboratory should be placed in a plastic or glass, tightly closed container. Storage in the refrigerator is allowed.

Decoding of coprological research

At a coprologic analysis of a feces its research on several directions is spent:

1. Macroscopic examination. Includes assessment of color, consistency, odor, presence of mucus, remnants of undigested food, helminths or their eggs. In a healthy person, feces should be from yellow-brown to dark-brown (due to bile processing products), contain a certain amount of moisture, do not contain mucus, blood, pus and parasites, and have a certain smell. The presence of putrefactive odor, unintended by the rate of inclusions, excessive density or sparsity of stools indicates a violation.
2. Chemical research. It includes testing the reaction to pH, latent blood, the presence of bile pigments and soluble proteins. In a healthy person, the pH reaction is neutral or slightly alkaline (6.8-7.6), bilirubin is absent (there is only a product of its disintegration of sterocilin), and there should be no blood and soluble proteins.
3. Microscopic examination. We investigate the remnants of digested food, the presence or absence of muscle and connective tissue, the content of fat and fatty acids, starch, microflora, epithelium, leukocytes, eosinophils. A healthy person in feces lacks fats and fatty acids, muscle and connective tissue, starch. They contain single white blood cells, a small amount of salts of fatty acids (soaps) and a different amount of plant fiber.

Deviation from normal indices can indicate inflammatory processes and disruption of the endocrine glands.