Stool Test Showed Presence Of Leukocytes And Some Epithelial Cells. Any Advice?

Posted on Thu, 29 Nov 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 Answered on

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I just received my stool test results and it says that two of the three stool samples contained leukocytes and some epithelial cells. There was also some mucus. Everything else was fine (no red blood cells, no parasites, etc). The presence of leukocytes and epitherial cells is freaking me out! Please advice. I got the test done becauseI was experiencing excessive gas,

Answered by Dr. Sumitra Kumar Mukherjee (3 hours later)

Dear,

Thanks for the query.

The stool report needs to be correlated to your symptoms for better interpretation.

The presence of leucocytes in the stool can suggest presence of bacterial infection in the gut.

Epithelial cells form the lining of the gut that cells act as barrier to bacterial invasion. In active invasion they are shredded and excreted in stool.

I advise you to see your doctor and he/she will send your stool for culture and sensitivity and prescribe appropriate antibiotics accordingly.

Hope this answers your query. Let me know if you need further assistance.

Kindest regards
Dr.S.K.Mukherjee

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad