Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the course of fecal calprotectin (FC) in very preterm infants over the first 15 days of life in relation to the type of milk diet.Methods: This study was part of a randomized controlled trial comparing two different ways of integrating the own mother's milk (OMM) for the evaluation of feeding tolerance in very preterm infants. In infants with gestational age of ≤ 32 weeks randomized to receive preterm formula (PF group) or pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM group) as a supplement to the OMM insufficient or unavailable, FC level was planned to be measured at the first meconium passage and at days 8 and 15 of life (T0, T1, and T2, respectively).Results: FC data were available for all the 70 infants randomized, 35 in the PF group, and 35 in the PDHM group. The mean FC levels were similar in the two study groups at T0 and T1, whereas they were significantly higher in the PF group than the PDHM group at T2. FC values decreased over the first week of life in both groups and significantly increased over the second week of life only in the PF group.Conclusions: Our study demonstrates a significant increase in FC levels when PF is used as a supplement to the OMM compared to the use of PDHM. Further studies are needed to establish if the higher FC levels in infants receiving PF are the expression of a normal immunological maturation rather than an initial inflammatory process.
Highlights
Calprotectin is a 36.4-KDa calcium and zinc-binding protein that constitutes the main component of cytosolic protein of neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages
fecal calprotectin (FC) data were available for all the 70 preterm infants randomized in the original trial, 35 in the preterm formula (PF) group and 35 in the pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) group
There was no difference in the maximum weight loss, but infants in the PF group regained birth weight 2 days earlier than infants in the PDHM group
Summary
Calprotectin is a 36.4-KDa calcium and zinc-binding protein that constitutes the main component of cytosolic protein of neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophages. Calprotectin is found in various body fluids in proportion to the degree of inflammation, but its concentration in the stool is ∼6 times that of the plasma: this is the reason why the measurement of fecal calprotectin (FC) would likely be a sensitive and specific marker of gastrointestinal inflammation. The level of FC can be proportional to the quantity of neutrophils migrating through the gastrointestinal mucosa [3, 4]. FC is greatly used as a noninvasive marker for the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease and may serve as an important clinic test in order to evaluate the. Fecal Calprotectin in Preterm Infants inflammatory state of the whole intestinal tract [5, 6]. The reference value given for healthy adults and children older than 4 years of age is 50 μg/g of feces [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
