wann ist eine stuhlprobe unbrauchbar — can a microbiome test help?

A stool sample becomes unusable if not collected, stored, or transported correctly. Common issues: contact with urine or water (dilutes bacteria), prolonged storage at room temperature (alters bacterial composition), lack of refrigeration, improper containers, or expired collection tubes. Recent antibiotic use or diarrheal illness also skews results. A microbiome test can help assess gut bacterial diversity, detect pathogens, or identify dysbiosis, but its clinical utility is limited. Most consumer tests are observational, not diagnostic; evidence for actionable insights (e.g., personalized probiotics) is weak or mechanistic. For the test to be valid, strict adherence to sampling instructions is essential. Caveat: Microbiome tests cannot replace medical diagnosis for conditions like IBD or infections. Evidence: unclear/mixed.