What is bloody stool?

Bloody stools refer to stools that contain some blood and pus-like substances. There are many reasons for bloody stools, such as intestinal inflammation or external stimulation, which may cause such a phenomenon. Common ones include bacterial dysentery, inflammatory gastrointestinal diseases, etc., which can cause damage to the intestinal mucosa. At this time, you should also be alert to anorectal tumors.

Causes and common diseases

1. Infectious factors

The most common is dysentery, and other bacterial infections or parasites can sometimes cause bloody stools.

2. Non-infectious factors

The most common cause is ulcerative colitis. In addition, bloody stools may also occur after necrosis and secondary infection of colon polyps, rectal polyps and malignant tumors.

(1) Constipation-related colitis: Constipation, diarrhea, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and difficulty in defecation lead to mucus in the stool, bloody stool, etc.

(2) In addition to bloody stools and bloody and purulent stools, perianal tumors may be accompanied by inguinal lymph node enlargement, liver metastasis, anal itching, etc.

examine

1. Anorectal endoscopy

By using medical video camera technology, the lesion site can be clearly observed at a magnification of hundreds of times during the examination. It can also capture images of deep lesions inside the anorectum and make real-time diagnosis, thus avoiding delays in the treatment of the disease due to the shortcomings of traditional manual examinations. At the same time, the lesion can be locked and then imaged, providing a reliable basis for comparison before and after treatment.

2. Tumor marker testing

Tumor markers such as CEA are helpful in diagnosing liver metastasis and monitoring tumor recurrence; the expression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen has a higher sensitivity and specificity in anal canal cancer, but is not related to tumor stage.

3. Biopsy

Any suspicious lesions in the anal canal and around the anus must be biopsied. Suspicious inguinal lymph nodes should also be biopsied. Histological examination can also distinguish between anal squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. For some patients who feel obvious pain, the procedure needs to be performed under anesthesia. Fine needle aspiration biopsy can also be performed for enlarged inguinal lymph nodes. For highly suspected lesions, if the puncture results are negative, surgical biopsy should be performed.