I got a call from a nurse who wanted to know if she could add on a stool culture to the sample we had received earlier for C.diff. I said, “Sure! Just put in the add on request.”
I pulled sample and set up the stool culture. 2 hrs later, she sends a new stool sample on the patient with a new stool culture order.
I called to ask why since I had already set up a stool culture on the sample we already had like she had requested. Her answer was the patient had another bowel movement and the color had slightly changed from the previous one. His stool went from brown to yellow-brown.
I informed her that stool changes color depending on what the patient had eaten or medications given and there was no need for another stool culture.
Submitted by:
Jennifer Flavell
Medical Technologist/Scientist
USA
