Final answer:
Blood in the stool, indicated by heme positive status, can signify serious conditions such as bacterial infections (e.g., by C. jejuni, Salmonella, and EHEC) that can cause bloody stools and can be life-threatening if not treated promptly.
Step-by-step explanation:
If a patient presents with symptoms of small bowel obstruction (SBO) and tests positive for heme in their stool, it is a significant concern.
The presence of blood in the stool (heme positive) suggests that there might be a bleeding site within the gastrointestinal tract.
This can be associated with a variety of conditions, including but not limited to infections by certain bacteria such as C. jejuni, Salmonella, or E. histolytica, which are known to cause bloody stools.
Furthermore, the concern extends to other serious conditions, such as infections caused by Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), particularly E. coli O157:H7.
It is known for causing symptoms ranging from mild diarrhea to life-threatening conditions like hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS).
The diagnosis of such bacterial infections typically involves stool cultures, and in the case of EHEC, a specialized agar medium such as MacConkey with sorbitol agar is used to differentiate between strains that ferment sorbitol and the more virulent strains, like E. coli O157:H7, which do not.