title: A new method of quantitative fecal fat microscopy and its correlation with chemically measured fecal fat output.
abstract: Fecal fat microscopy using the Sudan stain has suffered from a relative lack of specificity, and results are "qualitative." Therefore, we developed a quantitative fecal fat microscopic method with hopes of improving diagnostic accuracy. One hundred eighty patients with chronic diarrhea collected stools for 1 to 3 days, and fecal fat output was measured by a standard chemical method, and microscopy was performed by the old qualitative and new quantitative methods. There was a highly statistically significant linear correlation between quantitative fecal fat microscopy and chemically measured fecal fat output. The quantitative microscopic method had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 95%; the traditional method had a sensitivity and specificity of 76% and 99%, respectively. Fecal fat Sudan microscopy performed by a dedicated approach to counting and size measurement of fat globules can yield a quantitative result that correlates well with chemically measured fecal fat output and has a high diagnostic accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Division of GI Research, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ogunji
mesh_terms: D001391:Azo Compounds; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D002908:Chronic Disease; D019963:Clinical Chemistry Tests / Q000379:methods; D004396:Coloring Agents; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000378:metabolism; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis*; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D001391:Azo Compounds; D004396:Coloring Agents; D008055:Lipids; C033006:sudan III