Microbiological Stool Analysis By PCR

Microbiological stool analysis is a technique that uses a PCR to detect and identify the presence of as many as twenty microorganisms from a small stool sample responsible for causing GIT disturbances in the patient. Unlike the traditional stool analysis by culturing method, this method uses PCR to identify the causative agent by identifying its genetic material through amplification.

 

Your doctor may ask you to undergo this test if he suspects a gastrointestinal disease caused by some pathogen in the GI tract. This suspicion arises when symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, burning sensation, and abdominal cramps are manifested. If the test is not performed, identifying the causative agent is impossible. Identifying enteropathogenesis is critical for the clinical management of patients with suspected gastrointestinal infections. (1) The most common pathogen causing GIT disturbance is H. pylori, and various studies have been conducted to detect it in stool samples using multiple techniques.

 

Microbiological stool analysis by PCR is a fairly economical method and is very easy because it requires only a small sample. Being an economical, time-saving, and fairly easy method, it is used worldwide in medicine.

 

Various techniques such as culture, PCR, and enzyme immunoassay have been used to detect Helicobacter pylori infection in human fecal specimens. Several PCR protocols, differing from each other in the choice of genomic targets and primers, have been used to detect H. pylori infection. (2)

 

 

 

 

 

References:

  • Fidalgo, B., Rubio, E., Pastor, V., Parera, M., Ballesté-Delpierre, C., Fernández, M. J., Chasco, G. C., Vergara, A., Zboromyrska, Y., Aylagas, C., Salvador, P., Fernández, A., Valls, M. E., Alvarez Martinez, M. J., Mira, A., Marcos, M. A., Vila, J., Martinez, M. J., & Casals-Pascual, C. (2021). Improved diagnosis of gastrointestinal infections using a semi-automated multiplex real-time PCR for detection of enteropathogens. Journal of medical microbiology, 70(9), 10.1099/jmm.0.001367. https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001367

Microbiological Stool Analysis By PCR

You cannot copy content of this page