The Fayette County Health Department has just completed their first month of fecal immunochemical testing, or FIT, and has seen a high rate of abnormal tests. The Fayette County Health Department says the FIT kit is a quick and easy, take home stool sample kit which is very sensitive to any blood found in a stool sample. And, the FIT identifies patients for which the presence of fecal occult blood in stool is present, which is associated with gastrointestinal disease including colon cancer. The Fayette County Health Department says that as of October 31st, they had distributed 55 FIT kits, 41 were returned and tested and 15 of those tested were found to be abnormal—which would mean blood in the stool—which means the abnormal test rate for Fayette County was 36.6%. A technician for the makers of the kit explained the national rate for abnormal FIT tests is 7 to 13 percent. The Fayette County Health Department adds that any type of rectal bleeding is abnormal and should be evaluated by your doctor.
The Fayette County Health Department says the FIT kit may be a good option for people aged 50 to 75 who are resistant to getting a colonoscopy. The health department says they can bill these tests to private insurance there will be no cost to the patient as long as they turn the kit in.