STEATOCRIT - A RELIABLE SEMIQUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR DETECTION OF STEATORRHEA

Steatocrit is a semiquantitative method for determination of fat conte nt in fecal samples. Previous studies, mostly performed in children, r eported controversial results. The aim of our study was to compare the determination of fat content in 148 fecal samples by two methods: the conventional van de Kamer and the steatocrit. Seventy-seven fecal sam ples had steatorrhea (>7 g/day). The upper normal limit for the steato crit (determined by the mean +/-2 SD of samples without steatorrhea) w as 2.1%. The steatocrit showed a sensitivity of 87%, specificity of 97 %, and positive and negative predictive values of 97 and 87%, respecti vely. When fecal fat excretion >20 g/day was evaluated, sensitivity in creased to 98%. A significant linear correlation was found between ste atocrit and the quantitative chemical method (r = 0.80; p < 0.0001). I n conclusion, the steatocrit is satisfactory in the discrimination of patients with and without fat malabsorption. It is a simple, rapid, in expensive, and reliable semiquantitative test that can be used when ot her methods are impractical.