Liquid Stool - Orange

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Infusion, Med/Surg/Tele, Outpatient.

in clinicals today; needed stool sample from a pt w/ n/v/abd pain; labwork, xray unremarkable. it seriously was bright orange and liquid. can't find much info in my textbooks or on the web. never seen nor heard of it. any ideas? pt already had gallbladder out, appy. thanks!

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Is the person taking Rifampin for TB? That is known for turning secretions and stools red, but I don't remember anything about making it liquid.

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Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

Do you know what meds they were on?

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Specializes in Infusion, Med/Surg/Tele, Outpatient.

Not on rifampin. morphine/zofran prn, NS, protonix, solumedrol IV. Home meds - paxil, nexium, micardia HCT. Hx asthma w/prn albuterol.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Pyridium?

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Also, had they eaten anything that was orange? Was it mucusy at all...did it have a strong/strange odor? My first thought was C-diff or some strange bacteria dude...

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Specializes in Telemetry, ER.

I have seen urine bright orange but not often seen stool that color. Sometimes people with kidney failure and conditions like pancreatitis secrete some weird stuff in their stool and urine. I would guess it was something he ate, meds he had taken, or some disease process that caused a breakdown of proteins and or enzymes in his stool. But still, very weird!

Oh and the orange urine was on a guy going through DT's from ETOH withdrawl.....

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Liver failure? Kayexelate?

(this is not my specialty, btw. I'm just shaking the cobwebs off to throw out ideas!)

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.

Sounds like the patient is on Alli or Xenical....

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The only thing I know of that would make orange liquid stool is someone taking Xenical for weight loss and then eating alot of fat. The orange liquid would be oily.

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Specializes in Infusion, Med/Surg/Tele, Outpatient.

Thank you! I'll make sure to ask about use of wt-loss aids tomorrow.

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Thank you! I'll make sure to ask about use of wt-loss aids tomorrow.

Add antacids or bile salts. Also the following vegetables:

Carrots

Cilantro

Collard greens

Fresh thyme

Kale

Sweet potatoes

Spinach

Turnip greens

Winter squash

Basically anything with Beta Carotene.

Stool is yellow green (primarily from bile) at the top of the GI tract. It turns brown as the bile is enzymatically changed in the small bowel and colon.

David Carpenter, PA-C

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