Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 21, 2026

Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis
05:56

Implementation of Non-invasive Point of Care Transient Elastography for Evaluation of Liver Disease in Pediatric Populations with Cystic Fibrosis

Published on: August 29, 2025

671

How reliably can paediatric professionals identify pale stool from cholestatic newborns?

B Bakshi1, A Sutcliffe, M Akindolie

  • 1King’s College Hospital, London, UK.

Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|August 31, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Healthcare professionals struggle to identify pale infant stools, a key sign of biliary obstruction. Early detection of infant hepatobiliary disease could be improved with simple visual aids.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Neonatal Surgery
  • Diagnostic Accuracy

Background:

  • Infant hepatobiliary disease requires timely surgical intervention for optimal outcomes.
  • Pale stool color is a critical indicator of biliary obstruction, yet diagnosis is often delayed.
  • Current methods for recognizing pale stools are insufficient, leading to late referrals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the diagnostic skills of healthcare professionals in identifying pale infant stools.
  • To determine the accuracy of recognizing stool color indicative of biliary obstruction.

Main Methods:

  • Paediatric healthcare professionals from three London teaching hospitals participated.
  • Participants reviewed photographs of normal, acholic (pale), and indeterminate infant stools.
  • Stools were classified as 'healthy' or 'suspect' based on visual assessment.

Main Results:

  • A significant proportion, one-third, of infant stools were misidentified by physicians and nurses.
  • This highlights a critical gap in the recognition of stool color abnormalities.

Conclusions:

  • Even experienced healthcare professionals frequently fail to recognize stool colors associated with biliary obstruction.
  • The implementation of standardized stool color charts, similar to those used internationally, is proposed.
  • These visual aids could enhance early detection of infant hepatobiliary disease cost-effectively.
Abstract

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