Rice water stool is a finding of which disease?

UPPSC-2021

Medical & Surgical Nursing

Easy

Appeared in: UPPSC-2021

Explanation

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
The hallmark symptom of cholera is profuse, painless, watery diarrhea that resembles water in which rice has been cooked, known as "rice-water stool".
This characteristic appearance is due to massive fluid and mucus secretion into the intestinal lumen, triggered by the cholera toxin.
The stool volume can be extremely high (up to 1L/hour), leading to rapid dehydration, which is the primary cause of morbidity and mortality.

Option A: Amoebiasis, caused by Entamoeba histolytica, typically presents with dysentery, which is characterized by bloody and mucoid stools, along with abdominal pain and tenesmus (a feeling of incomplete defecation). It does not cause rice-water stools.
Option C: Typhoid fever, caused by Salmonella Typhi, can cause diarrhea, but it is classically described as "pea-soup" diarrhea—a greenish-yellow, liquid stool. This is distinct from the watery, colorless appearance of rice-water stool.
Option D: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, not an acute infection in this context. It causes inflammation and ulceration of the colon, leading to frequent, often small-volume, bloody diarrhea containing pus and mucus.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Identification of diseases based on characteristic stool appearance helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
For a nurse, recognizing stool characteristics is a vital assessment skill. Identifying rice-water stool immediately raises suspicion for cholera, prompting rapid isolation precautions and initiation of aggressive fluid replacement, which is life-saving.
Nursing priorities in a suspected cholera case include strict intake and output monitoring, assessing for signs of dehydration (e.g., poor skin turgor, sunken eyes, tachycardia, hypotension), and administering oral rehydration solution (ORS) or intravenous fluids as prescribed.
What if? If a patient presents with watery diarrhea but it is yellow and frothy, the nurse should consider other causes like Giardiasis, rather than cholera. The color and consistency provide crucial diagnostic clues.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key term in the question stem: "Rice water stool". This is a very specific clinical sign.
Access your knowledge base of gastrointestinal diseases and their classic presentations. This is a factual recall question.
Evaluate each option against the key sign.
Option A (Amoebiasis): Recall that this causes bloody dysentery.
Option B (Cholera): Recall that this is the classic cause of "rice-water stool".
Option C (Typhoid): Recall the term "pea-soup" diarrhea.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Identification of diseases based on characteristic stool appearance.
Stem keywords: Rice water stool, disease
Lead-in keywords: finding of which

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