Referral Laboratory

1. Adult patients should be on a standard diet containing 50-150 grams of fat per day at least 3 days before the test is started and during the 72 hour collection.
2. In children, the amount of fat in the diet should be constant for one day before the test and during the test.
3. The patient should not have had mineral oil as a laxative prior to specimen collection.

Indicate the patient's age on the test request form.

Stool

72 hour stool specimen, entire collection or 5-25 mL of homogenized aliquot

Use one or more clean LabCorp approved stool collection kits (LabCorp item # 03192).

Collect stool directly into the can.  Do not fill the can more than 2/3 full. Secure the lid with pressure and firmly attach the O-ring.  State the collection time on the can label.  Place the can and the absorbent sheet into the leak proof plastic bag and seal.  Send the entire can, or if submitting an aliquot, do the following:

1. Weigh the specimen and the collection container and subtract the weight of an empty container of the same type (one gallon can weight with lid: 360 g metal or 320 g plastic container.) This is the net weight to be recorded on the request form.
2. Open the container and observe if the contents are liquid.  If liquid stool, secure the lid, mix, and submit an aliquot of the total collection.  If solid stool, add deionized water (approximately 500 mL) to the specimen container and mix thoroughly to create a homogenous specimen.  Submit a 5-25 mL aliquot of the total collection in an empty stool transport vial (LabCorp item # 59517) or screw cap urine bottle (LabCorp item # 20648), sterile no additives.
3. Record on both the container and the test request form the amount of water added to liquefy the stool or if no water was required.

Special handling: Refrigerate specimen during collection and store refrigerated.

Frozen - 14 days
Refrigerated - 14 days
Room temperature - 5 days

82710 - Fecal Fat Quantitative (EAP 30020478)

Extraction/spectrophotometry