School of Life Course & Population Sciences

King's Stool Chart

The King’s Stool Chart can be used for characterising stool output in a variety of groups. It has been validated for use in free-living individuals, patients at high-risk of diarrhoea and patients receiving enteral nutrition. To improve its accuracy and reliability, the King’s Stool Chart contains both verbal and photographic descriptors of stool consistency, weight and frequency.

The King’s Stool Chart was developed by:

Prof Kevin Whelan, Professor of Dietetics, King’s College London
Dr Moira Taylor, Associate Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Nottingham
Prof Patricia Judd, Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Central Lancashire

The King’s Stool Chart is under copyright by King’s College London (2001) and it must not be amended. If you wish to use the King’s Stool Chart for commercial purposes please contact the College to request a licence by visiting the following web page to obtain contact details:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/innovation/business/support/ipandlicensing/index.aspx

Instructions for downloading the King’s Stool Chart

Download the King’s Stool Chart by clicking on the appropriate link on the right of the page. The files are in “portable document format” (pdf) and require you to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. Please note that the chart has only been validated in English and Turkish therefore it’s validity in other languages should not be assumed. The assistance of those involved in translating the King’s Stool Chart is gratefully acknowledged.
Print the chart using a good quality colour printer. Print both the chart and the instruction page in landscape format.
Ensure that the chart has been printed to the correct size by checking that the 10 cm scale is the correct size.
The chart and the instruction page must be placed back-to-back and laminated before use.

Instructions for using the King’s Stool Chart

The King’s Stool Chart can be used by healthy people, patients and healthcare professionals to monitor stool output. If the chart is to be used in a healthcare institution, regular staff training must be conducted to encourage valid and reliable results. The chart should be used as follows:

First, consider the consistency of the stool by comparison with both the verbal and photographic descriptors (A, B, C, D).
Then, consider the weight of the stool by comparison with the photographic descriptors (1, 2, 3). Compare the size of the stool, using the life size 10 cm scale, and compare it to the 10 cm scale on each photographic descriptor.
Record the frequency of stool over a 24 hour period.
Any other characteristics of stool output that are considered to be important must also be recorded e.g. incontinence, stool colour etc.