Fecal Fat, Quantitative

Stool Fat, Quantitative, Total Fat, Quantitative

11 days

Extraction/spectrophotometry

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Measures total fat excretion over 72 hours. Diagnoses malabsorption syndromes.

Stool (72-hour)

Entire collection or 5-25 mL of a homogenized aliquot

One or more clean LabCorp-APPROVED stool collection kits (order LabCorp ID 03192) containing a 1-gallon can, absorbent sheet, ArmLock O-ring, and a leak-proof plastic bag

No special preparation is required for this test. You may eat, drink, and take your medications as normal, unless instructed otherwise by your healthcare provider.

Collect stool directly into can. Do not fill any can more than 2/3 full. Secure lid with pressure and firmly attaches the O-ring. State collection time on the can label. Place the can and the absorbent sheet into the leakproof plastic bag and seal. Send the entire can, or if submitting aliquot, follow this procedure: 1. Weigh specimen and collection container and subtract the weight of an empty container of 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 test request form. 2. Open the container and observe whether 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 to 25 mL aliquot of the total collection in an empty stool transport vial (LabCorp N° 59517) or screw-cap urine bottle (LabCorp N° 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.