In acute pancreatitis, stool is typically described as?

• A. Clay-colored.
• B. Fatty and foul smelling.
• C. Black and tarry.
• D. Watery

Answer: (B)

Stool in acute pancreatitis is best described as fatty and foul-smelling because fat digestion is impaired when pancreatic enzymes, especially lipase, are not working properly. This fat malabsorption—steatorrhea—produces undigested fat that makes the stool greasy, bulky, and highly odorous. Clay-colored stool would point more toward bile flow problems, black and tarry stool indicates gastrointestinal bleeding, and watery stool describes diarrhea without the fat malabsorption characteristic of pancreatitis. So the fatty, foul-smelling description directly reflects the pancreatic enzyme insufficiency underlying the condition.