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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Prolonged Diarrhea With Blood Report Showing WBC In Stool. What Could This Be?

Hi, I' ve been having diarrhea for over a week. I lost 5 pounds. I am not dehydrated. No abdominal pain; no nausea or vomiting. Abdomen is soft and non distended. I alredy went to my doctor; lab results show a moderate white blood cells in th stool. No ova, cysts, or parasites seen, Negative for E.coli, salmonella or shigella. What do you think?? I am worried about the WBCs
Sat, 30 Nov 2013
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Cardiologist,  's  Response
Dear patient,

Thanks for the query. The WBC's only indicate that there is an inflammatory process in the bowel; 95% of diarrheas of less than 4 weeks duration are infectious in nature, viruses being the most common causes. There are other bacteria also that can cause acute diarrhea such as Campylobacter, which you were not tested on. Anyways, things should settle down between 10 and 21 days; if symptoms persist after a month, then other causes must be pursued.


Hope that helps, wish you the best,

Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
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Prolonged Diarrhea With Blood Report Showing WBC In Stool. What Could This Be?

Dear patient, Thanks for the query. The WBC s only indicate that there is an inflammatory process in the bowel; 95% of diarrheas of less than 4 weeks duration are infectious in nature, viruses being the most common causes. There are other bacteria also that can cause acute diarrhea such as Campylobacter, which you were not tested on. Anyways, things should settle down between 10 and 21 days; if symptoms persist after a month, then other causes must be pursued. Hope that helps, wish you the best, Dr Brenes-Salazar MD Mayo Clinic MN