What does a positive stool occult mean?

A positive fecal occult blood test means that blood has been found in the stool. Your doctor will have to determine the source of the bleeding, either by doing a colonoscopy or by doing an examination to determine if the bleeding is coming from the stomach or small intestine.

What percentage of positive FOBT are cancer?

Colorectal cancers were also detected earlier in the screening group. The positive predictive value of the fecal occult blood test (percentage of patients with a positive test who actually had cancer) ranged from 0.9 to 18.7 percent.

What are the side effects of occult blood?

Symptoms of OGIB include a change in the color of stools to black-tarry or even maroon, a drop in red blood cells (anemia) and low blood pressure, on occasion. Patients with OGIB may be admitted to the hospital several times for blood transfusions.

Is occult blood in stool serious?

Occult blood in the stool may indicate colon cancer or polyps in the colon or rectum — though not all cancers or polyps bleed. Typically, occult blood is passed in such small amounts that it can be detected only through the chemicals used in a fecal occult blood test.

Is occult blood serious?

(HealthDay)—Even if it’s not visible to the naked eye, blood in the stool can be serious—a sign of a potentially fatal disease other than colon cancer, new research suggests.

What can cause a false positive occult blood test?

Your test could show a positive result when you have no cancer (false-positive result) if you have bleeding from other sources, such as a stomach ulcer, hemorrhoid, or even blood swallowed from your mouth or your nose. Having a fecal occult blood test may lead to additional testing.

What would cause a positive cologuard test?

If you receive a positive result on your Cologuard test, it is likely that you already have colorectal cancer or pre-cancerous colon polyps that are causing bleeding. False positive results are common with non-colonoscopy screening tests.

What does occult blood in stool look like?

You may have bright red streaks of blood on your poop or you could see blood mixed in with it. Stool could also look very dark, almost black, and tarry. Sometimes, you can have blood in your stool that’s not visible. This is called occult bleeding.