🍨 🎥 🔀 Starch in feces. Decryption of the coprogram 🍀 👨🏿‍🤝‍👨🏼 🦒

Coprological examination (coprology) of feces is a laboratory procedure that helps to quickly collect the maximum amount of information about the functioning of the digestive system. This is a standard analysis that is carried out in the process of diagnosing existing diseases, and is also prescribed for routine preventive examinations. With its help, you can determine whether starch is present in the feces, whether there is hidden intestinal bleeding, whether the patient is infected with parasites, etc.

So how is the research done? How to collect stool samples? What indicators take into account? How to decrypt a coprogram? The answers to these questions will be interesting and useful to many readers.

What is a coprogram and why is it conducted?

It is almost impossible to make a correct diagnosis, to notice the presence of a disease without carrying out certain tests. Fecal coprology is one of the most popular, fastest and most affordable research methods. This laboratory analysis is carried out in almost every hospital.

Fecal masses, their physical characteristics and chemical composition can tell a lot about the work of the body. In particular, by studying the results, the doctor can identify the features of the human digestive tract. In addition, testing is used in the diagnosis of diseases of the liver and gall bladder, pancreas, stomach. Analysis of feces in children helps the pediatrician to get a general picture of the development of the digestive tract, the presence of metabolic failures. The study is indispensable in the diagnosis of helminthiasis, as well as the detection of latent gastrointestinal bleeding.

How to prepare for the analysis?

There are not many diseases of the internal organs for the differential diagnosis of which it is not required to obtain a coprogram. The doctor may order an examination to check if starch is present in the feces, whether there are traces of helminthic infestations, proteins or occult blood, etc. The question of whether the study requires any specific preparation is quite natural. Some rules will help you get accurate information:

A few days before sampling, it is recommended that you follow a basic, healthy diet. From the diet, it is worth excluding colored vegetables, fish, fatty meat and, of course, foods with food coloring.
If you are taking any medications without the ability to stop therapy for several days, be sure to inform your doctor.
The fence can not be carried out by women during menstruation - it is better to wait until its end.
In the event that defecation is a problem (for example, with constipation), do not use laxatives or enemas, as this can distort the results of the tests. It is better to wait for the natural bowel movement.

How to take feces?

The results of the analyzes largely depend on the proper preparation and collection of samples. So how to take feces? There is nothing complicated in the procedure. To collect samples, it is recommended to purchase a special plastic container with a lid. Such containers are sold in almost any pharmacy. They are equipped with a convenient spatula for collecting feces.

Before the procedure, it is worth washing, otherwise during the study uncharacteristic bacterial organisms, epithelial cells, chemical compounds can be detected, which, of course, will affect the further diagnosis process. The fence is carried out immediately after bowel movements.

According to laboratory assistants, a complete analysis requires material in the amount of one teaspoon. Smaller samples may not be enough for all tests. Feces should be sent to the laboratory as soon as possible - no later than 5-7 hours after collection. The longer the biomaterial is stored, the less likely it is to obtain accurate results, because under the influence of environmental factors (light, temperature, air) some chemical components of feces are destroyed, which leads to distortion of information. It is better to store the container with samples in the refrigerator.

If a coprogram is carried out in infants, then parents are not recommended to take stool samples from the diaper - it is better to put a clean diaper under the baby first. In the absence of a special plastic container, samples can be placed in a glass jar, but it must first be sterilized.

Coprology: decoding and normal indicators

After carrying out the necessary analyzes, a special questionnaire is drawn up. There are many different physical and chemical characteristics that coprology takes into account. Decoding and interpretation of the obtained data is the task of the doctor. Nevertheless, you can see how the results should ideally look:

feces of brown color and dense consistency, without interspersed mucus, food breasts and blood, without excessively fetid or pungent odor;
normal water content in feces is 80%;
the pH reaction should be neutral;
leukocytes, bilirubin, proteins and starch in the analysis of feces should be absent;
a small amount of muscle fiber is allowed.

Naturally, the amount of data in the questionnaire may vary depending on the doctor’s instructions. For example, if you need to pass stool for carbohydrates, then the laboratory assistant carries out reactions not only to the presence of starch, but also to its variety. The same goes for occult blood tests.

Physical characteristics of feces: what do deviations indicate?

Before proceeding with the study of the chemical composition of feces, the laboratory technician must study and enter the physical characteristics in the questionnaire. To make a good coprogram, they are no less important.

By the way, the patient can note some disorders only on his own. For example, there are average norms of the daily amount of feces. For an adult, this is 100-200 g. Naturally, we are talking about those cases when the patient follows the correct diet:

the release of less than 100 g of excrement per day is observed with constipation of different origin;
more than 200 g often indicates inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, accelerated evacuation of food masses, insufficient intake of bile;
if a person releases more than 1 kg of excrement per day, then this indicates a serious pancreatic insufficiency.

Another important factor is consistency. Feces are 80% water. With diarrhea, this figure rises to 95%, but constipation is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of fluid to 70-65%. Normally, the feces of an adult decorated, has a dense consistency. What analysis can tell:

abundant semi-liquid feces with oily impurities may indicate impaired absorption of fat in the intestine;
dough-like feces appears with insufficient bile and impaired secretion in the pancreas;
loose, gruel-like excrement indicates enhanced fermentation processes, colitis, enteritis;
liquid stool appears with digestive disorders in the small intestine;
solid feces of a ribbon-like or spiral shape are observed with constipation, hemorrhoids, as well as with the formation of tumors in the colon;
semi-fluid, foamy feces is characteristic of fermentative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome.

An important factor for diagnosis is the color of the stool:

light brown feces indicate accelerated evacuation of intestinal contents;
feces of a reddish hue is observed with inflammation and ulceration of the mucous membrane of the colon;
in case of motor and digestive disorders in the small intestine, patients often note that the stool becomes yellow;
white feces may indicate obstruction of the bile duct;
in diseases of the pancreas, feces can acquire a gray or yellow-gray hue.

As for other signs, they pay attention to the smell. Naturally, it depends primarily on food and on the amount of protein foods used. This is a subjective factor, although it should not be ignored. For example, the presence of an acidic smell may indicate fermentative dyspepsia. A strong stench is characteristic of diseases of the pancreas and impaired outflow of bile. And with the accelerated advancement of food masses, the stool has a characteristic smell of butyric acid.

It should be understood that physical characteristics are directly dependent on nutrition. That is why a few days before the test, it is recommended to switch to a simple, healthy food. Overeating, a strict diet, the use of dyes and preservatives - all this can distort the results.

Fecal pH reaction

Separately, it is worth highlighting such a parameter as pH. The reaction of feces should be neutral - its values range from 6.8-7.6. If the test data are not normal, then the following violations are possible:

a slightly alkaline reaction occurs against a background of digestive disorders in the small intestine;
alkaline reaction may indicate pancreatic diseases, digestive disorders in the stomach, increased secretory activity in the large intestine, ulcerative colitis;
sharply alkaline reaction, as a rule, is observed with putrefactive dyspeptic phenomena;
a pronounced acidic environment, on the contrary, indicates dyspepsia associated with intensive fermentation processes in the intestine;
moderately acidic environment is associated with impaired absorption of fatty acids.

By the way, in a child, feces can give an acid reaction, especially if the newborn is on artificial feeding - this is due to the composition of the milk mixture, so you should not worry in advance. An accurate diagnosis requires additional information.

The chemical composition of feces: normal and deviations

After studying the physical parameters, the laboratory assistant proceeds to study the chemical composition of feces. So, what should not be present in human excrement and what pathologies can be determined using this analysis?

A bad sign is the presence of protein in stool samples. Its presence may indicate enteritis, dysbiosis, ulcerative lesions of the digestive tract, gastritis, cancer, rectal fissures and hemorrhoidal formations.
Hemoglobin is a component of red blood cells that is absent in the feces of a healthy person. The occult blood test is positive for ulcers, bleeding in any part of the digestive tract (including the oral cavity), the formation of polyps and hemorrhoids, and hemorrhagic diathesis.
Sterkobilin is a substance that is formed during the decay of hemoglobin molecules. A decrease in its number indicates pancreatitis, hepatitis, cholangitis, and liver damage. But its increased content in feces is observed with hemolytic anemia.
Bilirubin is found in the feces of an adult with severe forms of dysbiosis, as well as increased intestinal motility. By the way, in children in the first year of life this element may be present.
The presence of leukocytes indicates an inflammatory process, in particular ulcerative colitis, dysentery, cancer, colon tuberculosis.
The presence of mucous impurities in the feces sometimes indicates the presence of infection in the intestines.
If feces contain a large amount of muscle fibers, this can also indicate a number of pathologies, including dyspepsia, constipation, ulcerative colitis, impaired bile flow, and a digestive failure.
Digestion in the small intestine, insufficient intake of bile, putrefactive and fermentative dyspepsia are accompanied by the release of fatty acids along with feces.

In addition, stool analysis helps diagnose parasitic diseases. In feces, eggs, larvae or segments of helminths, as well as lamblia, dysenteric amoeba and other pathogenic microorganisms, may be present.

Starch in the stool - is it dangerous?

Sometimes during laboratory tests starch is found in feces. What does this result indicate and is it worth starting to worry?

To begin with, we note that starch is a complex carbohydrate, the breakdown of which begins in the oral cavity and ends in the large intestine. During normal functioning of the digestive system, this substance decomposes and is absorbed completely. If stool grains are present in the feces, this indicates a condition known in medicine under the term "amilorrhea".

Amilorrhea is not an independent disease, but rather a consequence of certain lesions of the digestive tract. If during the examination starch was found in feces in an adult, then this may indicate the presence of the following problems:

fermentative dyspepsia;
gastritis and other diseases that are accompanied by functional disruption of the stomach;
violation of the pancreas, which is caused by its inflammation or atrophy;
inflammatory processes in the tissues of the intestinal wall (one of their signs is the accelerated advancement of food masses along the intestinal tract, as a result, enzymes simply do not have time to break down complex carbohydrates).

If we are talking about children, then the analysis results can be interpreted in different ways. The stool in the feces of a child in the first year of life may not be associated with any disease. At this age, amylorrhea is considered as the norm, since the digestive tract of the baby is at the formation stage. A pediatrician can advise on the correction of the diet of a small patient. In order to reduce the amount of starch consumed, you can temporarily refuse (or reduce the amount) of potatoes, and replace pears and bananas with peaches, apples and other fruits.

Recommending that you pass feces for carbohydrates, the doctor expects to receive some additional information. For example, two types of this compound in feces can be identified:

If we talk about fruits and vegetables, then this carbohydrate is contained inside the cell, protected by a vegetable membrane, which should normally decay during normal digestion. Intracellular starch in feces, as a rule, indicates a violation of peristalsis and too rapid evacuation of food masses from the intestine. Even if the digestive juice is secreted in sufficient quantity and contains all the necessary enzymes, nutrients simply do not have time to break down.
Sometimes during diagnosis, extracellular starch is found in the feces. Normally, such grains in excrement should also not be. Nevertheless, such a violation is observed against a background of decreased secretion of gastric juice, as well as with a lack of amylase in the saliva and pancreatic juice .

What to do if starch is found in the feces of a child?

Naturally, many parents are concerned about the question of what to do if starch is found in the feces of a child. Is amilorrhea so dangerous? Regardless of the patient's age, the presence of carbohydrates in excrement requires additional research.

First of all, it is necessary to eliminate the cause, whether it is enteritis, dysbiosis, pancreatitis or any other disorders. Of course, amylorrhea requires a diet correction. In particular, it is recommended to limit the amount of products containing starch (this applies to potatoes, bread, pastries, etc.). If the patient has insufficient enzyme activity, he needs to take specially selected enzyme preparations.

Conclusion

The study of excrement is a simple but very informative procedure, which is an integral part of the diagnosis. Nevertheless, you should not interpret its results yourself. Whatever is found during the analysis, whether it is starch in the feces, high protein content, traces of blood, the results must be shown to an experienced specialist. A coprogram alone is not enough to make a diagnosis - additional tests are needed.

Starch in feces. Decryption of the coprogram