Poppy seed test facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Poppy seed test |
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|---|---|
| Medical diagnostics | |
| Purpose | to determine if vesicointestinal fistula or colovesical fistula |
The poppy seed test is a simple medical check. Doctors use it to find out if someone has a special kind of connection inside their body. This connection is called a fistula. It's an unusual pathway between the large intestine (colon) and the urinary bladder. This test helps doctors decide if surgery is needed. It also helps them know what to expect during the operation.
How the Test Works
This test is very easy to do. A patient eats about 1.25 ounces of poppy seeds. They can have them with 12 ounces of fluid or 6 ounces of yogurt. After eating the seeds, the patient's urine is collected. This happens over the next 48 hours. Doctors then look closely at the urine. If they find any poppy seeds, it means the patient likely has a fistula. This is because the seeds have traveled from the intestine into the bladder.
Why This Test Is Useful
The poppy seed test is very helpful for doctors. It gives them important information before a patient has surgery.
High Accuracy
This test is known to be very accurate. One study looked at 49 patients who had surgery for a fistula. The poppy seed test was more often correct than many other tests. These included CT scans and MRI scans. Another study in the United States also found it to be much more accurate than CT scans.
The test is very good at finding fistulas when they are present. This is called its sensitivity. In studies, its sensitivity was as high as 94.6% to 100%. This means it almost always finds the problem if it's there. It is also 100% accurate at showing when there is no fistula. This is called its specificity. If you find a poppy seed, there is definitely a fistula.
Low Cost
The poppy seed test is also very inexpensive. In the United States, it has been reported to cost less than 6 dollars. This is much, much cheaper than a CT scan. CT scans can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
History of the Test
The poppy seed test was first written about in English medical journals in 2001. A group of urologists from Germany described it. They had used the test between 1994 and 1999. They gave 250 grams (about 8.8 ounces) of poppy seeds to 17 patients. Then, they checked the patients' urine for two days. The test results were correct for every patient. All 11 patients with fistulas passed poppy seeds in their urine. The 6 patients who did not have fistulas did not pass any seeds.
