Poor Function

This falls into two general categories:

Non-passage

The failure to pass stool may be related to several problems:

Non-technical problems

Overactivity of stoma

This refers to the passage of excess fluid through the stoma (usually an ileostomy). This fluid appears 'watery' with little normal gastrointestinal content i.e. very pale green in colour indicating the presence of very little bile.

N.B. This clinical sign of excess fluid is often misinterpreted as being normal function. In normal circumstances, the stoma effluent is thin, but should thicken and be of lesser volume within a few days.

This can be caused by:

As can be seen the causes of non-function and overfunction are similar and differ only in the degree of the underlying problem. Why should partial obstruction produce excess watery fluid passing via the stoma? In small bowel obstruction, the intestine secretes large volumes into the lumen!

Similarly, in intra-abdominal sepsis an ileus can occur which again leads to the loss of fluid into the lumen of the intestine.