OBJECTIVE To examine the analytical aspects of fecal transferrin (Tf) and hemoglobin (Hb) measured on the NS-Prime analyzer for use in a colon cancer screening program. DESIGNS AND METHODS Method evaluation and temperature stability studies for fecal Tf and Hb were completed. A method comparison was carried out against the NS-Plus system using samples collected from 254 screening program part...

PURPOSE This goal of this research was to develop and evaluate the psychometrics of a health-related quality of life scale developed to address issues related specifically to fecal incontinence, the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale. METHODS The Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale is composed of a total of 29 items; these items form four scales: Lifestyle (10 items), Coping/Behavi...

Fecal sampling is widely utilized to define small intestinal tissue-level microbial communities in healthy and diseased newborns. However, this approach may lead to inaccurate assessments of disease or therapeutics in newborns because of the assumption that the taxa in the fecal microbiota are representative of the taxa present throughout the gastrointestinal tract. To assess the stratification...

INTRODUCTION We have reported that altered gut flora is associated with septic complications and eventual death in critically ill patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. It is unclear how fecal pH affects these patients. We sought to determine whether fecal pH can be used as an assessment tool for the clinical course of critically ill patients. METHODS Four hundred ninety-one f...

Microbial contamination affects a large number of water bodies in the US. Because it is not feasible to directly monitor all pathogens, it is standard practice to monitor fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as total and fecal coliforms, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and fecal enterococci, in water. Epidemiological studies have established human health standards based on exposure t...

INTRODUCTION Malabsorption, which is frequently underdiagnosed in critically ill patients, is clinically relevant with regard to nutritional balance and nutritional management. We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of fecal weight as a biomarker for fecal loss and additionally to assess fecal macronutrient contents and intestinal absorption capacity in ICU patients. METHODS This was an...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Most previous epidemiologic studies about fecal incontinence were performed in specific populations in Korea. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and predictive factors of fecal incontinence in adult Korean population, both men and women aged 20 years and over. METHODS Subjects who had undergone medical check-up for health screening were enrolled. They completed the structured...