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What does a stool test for guaiac primarily check for?

  1. Steatorrhea.

  2. Blood.

  3. Bacteria.

  4. Parasites.

The correct answer is: Blood.

A stool test for guaiac primarily checks for the presence of blood in the stool. This test is designed to detect hidden (occult) blood, which can be an important indicator of various gastrointestinal conditions, including cancer, ulcers, or other sources of bleeding in the digestive tract. Given that the primary aim of the guaiac test is to identify blood, it is a critical tool in the early detection of serious health issues. This test utilizes a chemical reaction to identify hemoglobin, which is the component of red blood cells that carries oxygen and is indicative of blood presence when there is no visible bleeding. While steatorrhea tests would look for fat in the stool, bacterial infections and parasites would require different types of tests to identify their presence, such as cultures or specific parasitology tests. Therefore, the focus of a stool guaiac test is uniquely on blood detection, making it the most relevant answer in this context.