![escala de heces de bristol escala de heces de bristol](https://www.ultralevura.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/escala-de-bristol-para-medir-la-diarrea-1024x986.png)
The scale is structured from 1 to 7 according to form and consistency, from the hardest (type 1) to the fluid kind (type 7). The patient has only to select the type that, according to the drawing and description, more closely resembles his or her own stools. The relevance of this scale is that it shows the patient drawings illustrating stool shapes together with precise descriptions regarding form and consistency, and using easily recognizable examples (for instance, in type 1, by a color illustration of feces as separate balls, a legend explains: "Hard, separate balls. (3) in order to descriptively and graphically assess 7 stool types according to form and consistency. The so-called "Bristol scale" was developed and validated in Bristol by Heaton et al. These authors only found significant differences in weekly mean weight, which was lower for constipated patients, but not in stool shape using a descriptive scale. (2) attempted to evaluate differences in stool characteristics between constipated subjects (n = 20) and a control group (n = 20) fecal consistency was analyzed in a laboratory for stools collected over 7 days. Using this same scale, Aichbichler et al.
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The statistical power of this association allowed these authors to hypothesize that simply inspecting stool form could be useful to estimate bowel transit time in clinical practice. Thus, stool shape corresponded to either a fast or slow transit (type 1 was related to fast transit, type 8 was associated with slow transit). This scale has not been validated but proved useful to demonstrate - in a reduced sample (n = 51) assessed for food ingestion - that defecatory frequency, and stool weight and rheology made up the best clinical marker for bowel transit time (as measured with radio-opaque substances). (1) establishes 8 descriptive options - from type-1 or watery feces to type-8 or hard, fragmented, goat-like stools type 5 corresponds to smooth cylindrical feces. Two descriptive systems have been published that allow to record fecal form and consistency (2,3). An objective, validated, self-administered, easily quantifiable recording system would considerably speed up data collection by physicians. Stool collection and subsequent fecal testing in a laboratory is virtually an impossible thing to do in daily practice or epidemiological studies, this method remaining a restricted option for research with small sample sizes (1,2). Other goals to consider include an analysis of population-related variability according to food types, age, sex, drugs, and lifestyle. An easy-to-use, accessible system to quantitize stool consistency and form would be an important asset, particularly one allowing an understanding of the relationship between fecal characteristics and defecation-related patient complaints.
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Furthermore, hard-to-homogenize variables also apply, including variously designed toilet pans that on occasion distort or completely hinder an assessment of fecal characteristics. This is not only due to patient or caregiver squeamishness regarding attentive fecal inspection for each bowel movement, but also to a number of factors including the variability of stool form and consistency among individuals or in one individual over time, and changes in stool form and consistency during one bowel movement (1,2), since some individuals commonly evacuate hard, ball-shaped feces early during defecation followed by soft or even fluid stools subsequently. In clinical practice, difficulties in assessing stool characteristics (consistency, form, smell, color, etc.) are common during history taking. The Bristol scale - a useful system to assess stool form?Įscala de Bristol: ¿un sistema útil para valorar la forma de las heces?