coproculture

Generality

Copiculture is a microbiological examination aimed at finding particular microorganisms in the faeces; it therefore serves essentially a diagnostic purpose, but thanks to the possible antibiogram it can also be useful to choose the most suitable medicine for eradicating the pathogen.

How to Collect Feces

The collection of feces is entrusted to the patient, together with compliance with some rules aimed at the success of the coproculture; let's see in detail:

in order to avoid contamination with urine and detergents, defecation should take place in a carefully cleaned "chamber pot" type container; as an alternative it is possible to line the toilet with toilet paper.
Once emitted, the faeces are immediately collected with the help of the appropriate spatula, then deposited in the relative container filling it up to the middle. If the container contains a liquid, this must absolutely not be emptied but kept in place. It is very important to take the samples in three or four different points of the stool, taking care to collect them in correspondence with any traces of mucus, blood or pus (for the greater probability of finding pathogens there).
After collection, the container, carefully closed and marked with name, surname and date, must be immediately taken to the analysis laboratory; alternatively it can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 12/24 hours. The bacteria, in fact, can die or proliferate excessively and also the pH of the faeces can undergo important modifications.
In the days preceding the coproculture do not use laxatives, purges or suppositories to evacuate. It is also necessary to suspend antibiotics according to the instructions of your doctor.
Only in selected cases, such as difficulty in obtaining faeces in infancy, can the fecal sample be collected through a rectal swab.
The material should preferably be collected at the acute moment of the infectious process; to increase the possibility of isolation of pathogens it may therefore be required to send three samples to the laboratory on different days.
During the entire procedure it is advisable to wear latex gloves and at the end of the operations it is advisable to carefully wash the hands.

PLEASE NOTE: based on the pathogen you are looking for, the indications provided by the analysis center may vary slightly from those described.

When is it performed?

The doctor may prescribe the execution of a coproculture to discover the origin of gastro-intestinal symptoms suggestive of an enteric infection, such as acute or chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain and severe meteorism.

A variety of bacteria or viruses are sought with a culture set.

Cultivation requires an enrichment medium (where pathogens can multiply under optimal conditions) and a specific methodology. It must therefore be performed on the basis of a precise clinical suspicion.

The standard coproculture involves the search for: Salmonella spp. Shigella spp. and Campylobacter spp., all bacteria responsible for intestinal infections transmitted through the consumption of water or contaminated foods and typically associated with diarrhea, abdominal pain, more or less high fever and the presence of mucus or pus in the faeces (rare in campylobacteriosis).

Other microorganisms that can be found in faeces (extended coproculture) are: Yersinia spp. - Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) - Enero-invasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) - Enterotoxic Escherichia coli (ETEC) - Escherichia coli O 157 (VTEC) - Vibrio spp. (including cholera) - Aeromonas spp. - Bacillus cereus (+ toxin) - Staphylococcus aureus (+ toxin) - Clostridium spp. (+ toxin) - Streptococcus agalactiae - Miceti.

In patients of prediatric age, COPD also concentrates on the research of Rotaviruses, responsible for gastroenteritis (diarrhea and vomiting); after 5/6 years of age, on the other hand, the research of Rotaviruses by coproculture is not recommended, as the patients are almost all immunized.