Bristol stool scale
The Bristol stool scale is a medical diagnosis tool used by doctors to classify the way feces looks into seven different categories.[1] It is also known by the names Bristol stool chart and Bristol stool form scale.
It was developed at Bristol Royal Infirmary in 1997 as a clinical assessment tool, but is also used to help with patients who cannot speak, so that they can show their doctor if they have a problem with their bowels (a clinical communication aid). It is also used to help diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Understanding the scale
[change | change source]The seven types of feces shown by the scale are:
- Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
- Type 2: Sausage-shaped, but lumpy
- Type 3: Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface
- Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
- Type 5: Soft blobs with clear cut edges (passed easily)
- Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
- Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces, entirely liquid
Feces that look like Type 3 and Type 4 have a normal shape. Feces that look like Type 1 and Type 2 are a sign of constipation. Feces that look like Type 6 and Type 7 are a sign of diarrhea.[2] Feces that look like Type 5 is a sign of lacking fiber.
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Koh, H.; Lee, MJ.; Kim, MJ.; Shin, JI.; Chung, KS. (February 2010). "Simple diagnostic approach to childhood fecal retention using the Leech score and Bristol stool form scale in medical practice". J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 25 (2): 334–8. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1746.2009.06015.x. PMID 19817956. S2CID 46258249.
- ↑ Lacy BE, Patel NK (2017). "Rome Criteria and a Diagnostic Approach to Irritable Bowel Syndrome". J Clin Med (Review). 6 (11): 99. doi:10.3390/jcm6110099. PMC 5704116. PMID 29072609.
