Contents
Old-fashioned toilet bowls had a shelf on which the products of the bowel lingered before they were flushed with water. A person could observe changes in his own feces and notice some problems in time, in which the help of a doctor is required. To make an accurate diagnosis, a specialist may order a stool test called a coprogram.
What is a coprogram
Let’s understand what a coprogram is. After all, not only by the appearance of feces, experts draw conclusions and make diagnoses.
A coprogram is a study and analysis of the physical and chemical properties of the stool and its various components, inclusions. The coprogram is almost never prescribed as a separate study, most often it is an additional diagnostic method.1.
Indications for coprogram in adults
The coprogram is used to diagnose diseases of the gastrointestinal tract: stomach, pancreas, liver, duodenum, large intestine and small intestine, gallbladder and biliary tract. Also, a coprogram is prescribed if the disease has already been identified, treatment tactics have been determined, and periodic monitoring of its results is required.
Indications for prescribing a coprogram:
- pain in the abdomen and right hypochondrium,
- nausea and vomiting,
- chronic constipation or diarrhea
- bloating,
- change in the shape, texture and color of feces,
- blood in stool
- loss of appetite
- deterioration of the skin, hair and nails, skin rashes,
- increased gas production
- weight loss with good nutrition,
- icteric skin and whites of the eyes.
Contraindications to coprogram in adults
There are few contraindications to the comp program, and all of them are temporary.
- Period of menstruation in women.
- The first two days after colonoscopy or x-ray of the digestive tract with contrast.
If menstruation has become a contraindication, then you must wait for their full completion in this cycle. And after the x-ray, you have to wait a week and a half, because the remains of the contrast agent in the gastrointestinal tract affect the structure and composition of the feces.
How to pass a coprogram to an adult
Cal is desirable to take the morning. It is necessary to completely empty the bladder, then wash thoroughly with warm water and neutral soap. The areas of both the anus and the genitals should be clean.
Pharmacies sell special plastic containers for collecting feces – with a wide neck and a spatula for collecting material. In this container, with the help of a spatula, material is collected from several places of excrement. In total, to study it, you need no more than 2-3 teaspoons. The container is closed with a sealed lid – and it is ready for transportation to the place of analysis.
It is desirable to deliver the feces to the clinic or laboratory immediately. In extreme cases, you can keep the analysis in the refrigerator at a temperature of 5 degrees, but it can be stored this way for no more than 8 hours. The earlier the material arrived at the laboratory for research, the more reliable the result of the coprogram will be.
Prepare
It is necessary to prepare for a coprogram in advance and no less responsibly than for a biochemical blood test! 2-3 days before the stool test, you must adhere to certain rules and deny yourself something.
What not to use:
- Foods and medicines that can stain stools (carrots, beets, blueberries, activated charcoal)
- Tomatoes, including ketchup, tomato paste and juice
- Exotic dishes, fatty and fried foods, smoked meats, spices, canned food, pickled and pickled foods,
- Alcohol,
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- antibiotics,
- Digestive enzymes (enzymes),
- laxatives,
- Preparations of iron and bismuth.
What to include in your diet:
- cereals and cereals,
- boiled lean meat (white meat of turkey and chicken),
- vegetables and fruits that do not contain coloring pigment.
No extremes are necessary – you should neither starve nor overeat. You should refrain from enemas and douching for 2-3 days and do not use rectal suppositories.
Explanation of results
A gastroenterologist, a nutritionist, a therapist, a pediatrician and a general practitioner can decipher the coprogram.
What is assessed:
- Appearance of feces
- Density,
- Colour,
- Smell,
- The presence of bloody inclusions, undigested food, mucous lumps, purulent discharge,
- The presence of helminths.
What should ideally be
Normally, we should see the following indicators:
| Color | uniform brown (light brown, brown, dark brown). The color of the stool may change with certain medications and certain foods. |
| Smell | normal fecal, slightly sour. |
| Consistency | decorated, moderately dense, in appearance should resemble a banana. |
| Reaction | neutral or slightly acidic (pH ranging from 6 to 8). |
| What shouldn’t be | There should be no blood, mucus, undigested food residues, digestible vegetable fiber, fatty acids, starch, pathological flora and helminth eggs in the feces. |
| Acceptable in small quantities | altered muscle fibers, fatty acid salts or soaps, leukocytes, erythrocytes, intestinal epithelial cells. |
What can the results of the analysis say?
- Color. The color of feces normally varies depending on the composition of the food. Meat food will stain the stool darker, and dairy-vegetarian food will lighten it. Taking certain medications can also greatly affect the color of feces.
Affect the color and pathology in the body. Discolored feces may indicate problems with the outflow of bile, disorders in the pancreas. Red and black feces can be a sign of ulcerative colitis and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Consistency. Loose stools may indicate colitis, intestinal motility disorders. Liquid, mushy stools with bowel movements more than 3 times a day is diarrhea. Ointment-like feces are characteristic of diseases of the pancreas, “sheep” – for inflammatory bowel diseases and constipation. Indirectly, “sheep” feces may indicate problems with the gallbladder and / or insufficient drinking regimen. Stools in the form of gruel can occur with an increase in the intake of fiber (vegetable foods), which leads to increased intestinal motility.
- Reaction. Alkaline stool reaction is observed in colitis and disorders in the pancreas. The acid reaction is usually caused by fermentation in the intestines.
- Smell. The usual unsharp smell of feces is associated with the formation of volatile substances (indole, skatole, etc.) during the fermentation of food proteins. This smell can intensify with excessive consumption of protein foods – the body is simply not able to digest them properly. Also, a sharp smell of feces occurs when there is insufficient consumption of plant foods, since fiber is a “brush” and a sorbent for the body.
- A sharp fetid smell of feces may be due to insufficient digestion of food, which leads to an increase in putrefactive processes in the intestines. The sour smell of feces can be observed during infectious processes.
- Blood. Blood in the feces appears with bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, with hemorrhoids and rectal fissures.
- Slime. Its appearance most often indicates inflammation in the intestines.
- Leftover undigested food. They can appear in the feces with insufficient production of gastric juice and / or digestive enzymes, as well as with a violation of bile secretion or increased intestinal motility (food quickly leaves the gastrointestinal tract without having time to digest to the end).
- Muscle fibers. This is a signal that protein foods are poorly digested due to a decrease in the acidity of gastric juice or a lack of digestive enzymes from the pancreas and intestines.
- digestible plant fiber. Appears in the feces with narrowing and blockage of the biliary tract, increased putrefactive processes in the intestines.
- Neutral fat, fatty acids and their salts. The reason is problems with the production and excretion of bile, as well as a lack of digestive enzymes that the pancreas produces.
- Starch. Its appearance in the feces may indicate a dysfunction of the pancreas, which does not produce enough amylase.
- Leukocytes and epithelium (squamous/cylindrical) – their large number indicates the presence of an inflammatory process in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Erythrocytes. Their appearance in the feces is possible against the background of bleeding in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract, including the rectum.
- Chemical crystals. Their presence in feces may indicate indigestion and various diseases: increased protein decay in the colon; insufficiency of stomach function, helminthic invasions, allergies2.
How much does a coprogram cost in adults?
The average cost of this analysis is 500-600 rubles.
Popular questions and answers
The most common questions about the coprogram are answered by nutritionist, biochemist and healthy lifestyle coach Anastasia Zalomaeva.
How long does a coprogram take?
How many days is a stool test valid?
Can the decoding of the coprogram be incorrect?
Why is feces such informative material?
Sources:
- Nomenclature of medical services (new edition). Approved by order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated October 13, 2017 No. 804n. Valid from 01.01.2018. As amended by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia dated March 5, 2020 N 148n (including with amendments entered into force on April 18.04.2020, 3). https://dz.ivanovoobl.ru/wp-content/uploads/sites/2018/03/13/Prikaz-Minzdrava-Rossii-ot-10_2017_804-N-XNUMXn.pdf
- Laboratory and instrumental methods for diagnosing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. S.S. Bunova, L.B. Rybkina, E.V. Usacheva. Omsk, 2014. https://www.gastroscan.ru/literature/authors/8998
- Clinical laboratory diagnostics. Ed. V.V. Dolgova, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education. Moscow, 2016. http://irbis.rmapo.ru/UploadsFilesForIrbis/e6b070e24f4686904d2cdeb41279e63c.pdf