Stability

Days Performed

Mon - Fri

Turnaround Time

4 days

Methodology

Reference Range

Special Info

Some family health centers and Emergency department personnel have been approved to perform point of care fecal occult blood testing. Contact your department administrator to verify department approval and obtain credentials. For areas not credentialled to perform onsite testing, use an applicator stick to apply a THIN smear of stool to Box A on the Hemoccult SENSA test card. Do not over inoculate. Using the same applicator stick, obtain a second sample of stool from a different area and apply a thin layer to Box B on the test card. Close the cover flap. Label test card, place it into the envelope and submit to microbiology for testing. Patient Preparation: For 7 days prior to sample collection, avoid non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. Avoid iron and Tagamet. For 3 days prior to specimen collection, avoid vitamin C in excess of 250 mg/day. Avoid red meats, horseradish, raw fruits and vegetables such as cauliflower, radish, cantaloupe, parsnips, and other high peroxidase containing vegetables.

Clinical Info

Guiac based methods such as Hemoccult should be used to rule out the presence of blood in the upper or lower GI tracts. For detection of colon cancer, please order the Immunoassay based fecal occult blood test (order code = IFOBT) and submit an IFOBT collection vial.